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In a similar vein, if (just throwing this out there off the top of my head) the last common ancestor of apes and humans was 4 million years ago, why haven't ape
by ZanyProgrammer 11y ago
In a similar vein, if (just throwing this out there off the top of my head) the last common ancestor of apes and humans was 4 million years ago, why haven't apes evolved speech and tool making in those 4 million years?
- sliverstorm 11y agoDifferent habitats lead to different selective pressures. If the last common ancestor of apes and humans was 4 million years ago, why haven't apes lost all their body hair and developed the ability to run on hind legs? Because they don't live on the open Savannah, of course. Speech & advanced tool making is more complicated, but we can surmise similar ideas apply. For example, maybe human pack endurance hunting in the Savannah increased the value of social structure and sophisticated communication. FWIW, apes do use simple tools.
- rue 11y agoWhy? Because they do well enough as it is. And any possible offshoots getting out of that niche and threatening humans were wiped out. Evolution is not about the future. It has no goal. It’s a thing that has happened.