The missing link between humans and apes

In the latter half of the 19th century, a common misinterpretation of Charles DarwinвЂ™s work was that humans were lineally descended from existing species of apes. He theorized that the missing link was to be found on the lost continent of Lemuria located in the Indian Ocean. missing link, hypothetical extinct creature halfway in the evolutionary line between modern human beings and their anthropoid progenitors. Haeckel claimed the origin of humanity was to be found in Asia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. Haeckel claimed that human evolution occurred in 24 stages and that the 23rd stage was a theoretical missing link he named Pithecanthropus alalus ('ape-man lacking speech'). The search for a fossil that connected man and ape was unproductive until the Dutch paleontologist Eugene Dubois went to Indonesia. *Citation: 'A unique Middle Miocene European hominoid and the origins of the great ape and human clade Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.' By Moya-Sola, S., Alba, D., Almecija, S., Casanovas-Vilar, I., Kohler, M., De Esteban-Trivigno, S., Robles, J., Galindo, J., & Fortuny, J. Lucy 2.0: Famous Fossil Hominid Goes Digital.Hobbits May Belong on New Branch of Our Family Tree.The 'Out of Africa' theory, which postulates a tidy, totally African origin for modern humans and is a near-consensus position among scientists, would go out the window.

If so, then our evolutionary history is rooted in a primate lineage that arose in Africa, wandered into Eurasia, and then went back to Africa before returning to Eurasia in modern human form. Only more fossils and years of study will reveal if that bold statement is true.

The missing link between humans and apes