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Asked by nanuka05 to Aggelos, Andrew, Eileen, Naomi, Shane on 15 Nov 2012.
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Andrew Jackson answered on 15 Nov 2012:
hi nanuka05
Humans were created through the process of evolution by natural selection just like all living organisms. The human story begins about 5 million years ago when there were apes that were kind of chimp-like, gorilla-like and human-like. During this time, these apes began to become more and more different. One of these apes began to walk more upright and to loose its dense coat of hair. Over time, this ape started to build tools that gave it an advantage over teh other apes. Around 2.5 million years ago, the first human-like ape appeared and eventually, Homo sapiens, which we know as proper humans as we are today appeared around 200,000 years ago. It all happened very gradually, with small advantages in surviving and reproducing meaning that the ancient humans and all our ancestors lived while the other forms died out.
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Naomi Elster answered on 16 Nov 2012:
The theory is that all life began as a single-celled, very simple living thing, a bit like a bacterium is today. Then as single-celled creatures started to live in closer and closer communities, they somehow merged into multi-cellular beings. Evolution then occured over millions, perhaps billions, of years, to give rise to apes. Evolution continued via a process called natural selection. This is where a characteristic that helps an animal to survive in its own environment is kept and a trait that would be a disadvantage is lost over time. Some of these apes would not have needed their thick hair, and it would have been advantageous for them to walk upright, as it would mean they could see further and also keep their hands free to work with. They gradually evolved into humans, or Homo Sapiens. It’s thought that the first humans ever appeared in Africa, and gradually migrated away, continuing to evolve as we did so.
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Eileen Diskin answered on 19 Nov 2012:
Andrew and Naomi have this one covered I think, they did a great job expaining how evolution worked to create humans. I think its really cool to think about that, how over time some amazing things can happen! That from the same chemicals and elements, so many different forms of life can be created. Its awesome, really!
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Aggelos Zacharopoulos answered on 22 Nov 2012:
@nanuka05,
the theory of evolution (Andrew and Naomi explained above) is a great tool for undestanding how humans have been formed. The theory is not 100% bullet proof but it is the best scientific explanation that we have at the moment.
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