What Caused Early Primates to Evolve into Modern Humans?
Around 7 million years ago, the African ape Sahelanthropus tchadensis, the common ancestor of chimps and humans, came into being, diverging from the rest of the “Great Apes” which also included orangutans and gorillas. The Great Apes all exhibit forms of culture and communication beyond just their own bands or tribe, and can engage in behaviors such as empathic social deception, suggesting a theory of mind. Sahelanthropus tchadensis is considered the oldest hominin ancestor related to modern humans. Hominins include both chimps and humans while the genus Homo refers to human ancestors after the divergence from chimps. Around five to three million years ago, human ancestors diverged from chimps with the species Australopithecus afarensis, of which the famous Lucy fossil is an example. We are sketchy on the exact dates because there is little fossil evidence of chimps, as they lived in a rainforest environment where bones are not preserved well. Sometime around 3 million years ago, our a
