INTEGBI C13 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Homo Floresiensis, Viscosity, Ernst Haeckel
10 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Until the mid-1960s the ages of oldest fossils was the primary way of estimating times of origin. The idea: as evolution proceeds dna (and amino acid changes) accumulate, and thus that the number of differences between species can be used as a measure of the time since they diverged. Note the fern, which is more evolutionarily distant from the three flowering plants, has more changes in its dna. Using an estimated divergence between homo and old world monkeys of 30 myrs, that humans and chimps only diverged 4-5 million years ago. And incorrect idea (that also upsets some people) is that chimps evolved into humans. A more accurate portrayal of our relationship is that chimps and homo sapiens share a common ancestor. Missing link n. 1. (usually preceded by the) and extinct animal postulated to bridge the evolutionary gap between the anthropoid apes and human beings.
