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Ape-Human Split Moved Back By Millions Of Years

E++99 writes in to let us know about a development in paleo-anthropology. It seems that up until now, scientific consensus has placed the divergence of man from the ape line five to six million years ago (based on "genetic distances"). But newly discovered fossils in Ethiopia place the divergence at least twice as far back, and perhaps as long ago as 20 million years. They also largely put to rest any doubts that man and modern apes both emerged from Africa. From the article: "The trail in the hunt for physical evidence of our human ancestors goes cold some six or seven million years ago... Beyond that... fossils of early humans from the Miocene period, 23 to five million years ago, disappear. Fossils of early apes especially during the critical period of 14 to eight million years ago were virtually non-existent — until now... [T]he new fossils, dubbed 'Chororapithecus abyssinicus' by the team of Japanese and Ethiopian paleo-anthropologists who found them, place the early ancestors of the modern day gorilla 10 to 10.5 million years in the past, suggesting that the human-ape split occurred before that."

6 of 390 comments (clear)

  1. How very fitting by d3vo1d · · Score: 5, Funny

    that this comes right after the story entitled "Attack of the Evil Monkeys From Hell".

  2. Re:simpsons quote by timmarhy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yep, it's cheap and easy to do because the idea that the world is 6000 years old and was greated by a big man in the sky is so stupid.

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  3. Re:simpsons quote by kestasjk · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't make a caricature of my faith; we've come a long way. Now we believe that the creator came down in human form to get his shit ruined by us, so that he could forgive us for the symbolic sin of eating some fruit that made us really smart. God didn't actually come down and wrestle with Israel, and he didn't actually make a donkey talk, it was just a symbol. If you can't figure out what a donkey talking symbolizes, well I feel sorry for you and your "logic" based mindset.

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  4. Re:HaHa,,, STILL trying to PROVE evolution... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apparently the 98% genetic similarity with chimpanzee doesn't convince you. That just proves that our intelligent designer is a lazy bastard who copied most of his work from the chimps' intelligent designer.
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    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  5. Re:simpsons quote by flewp · · Score: 4, Funny

    Before eating the fruit, whatever that means, man answers to istinct and/or is incapable of sinning because he can't tell. After, he is able to sin. Just to make sure I've got this straight:
    • Man was incapable of sin until eating the fruit.
    • Man became capable of sin after eating the fruit.
    • Man at the fruit while incapable of sin.
    • Eating the fruit was a sin.
    There's a ??? step I'm missing somewhere... Not only that, but you're missing the most important step... PROFIT!
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    WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
  6. Re:HaHa,,, STILL trying to PROVE evolution... by guabah · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's what happens when the Chimp's Intelligent Designer licensed his work under the BSD.