ANT101H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Georges Cuvier, Binomial Nomenclature, Carl Linnaeus
Document Summary
Describe the key contributions to evolutionary theory made by precursors to darwin and explain how each influenced the development of evolutionary theory. Contrast the scientific understanding of biological evolution with nonscientific approaches that seek to explain the origins of life and how life has changed on earth. The earliest human ancestors evolved from a species that lived some 5 to 8 million years ago. The ancestral species was the last common ancestor we share with chimpanzees. The lineage that led to the apes and ourselves separated from a monkey-like ancestor some. 20 mya, and monkeys are still around b/c as lineages diverged from a common ancestor, each group went its separate ways. Each living species is the current product of processes that go back million of years. We aren"t able to see evolution since it takes long periods of time, but we do see microevolutionary changes in many species.
