What is evolution?
Evolution is the slow process of change through which modern humans evolved from apes. The evolution of humans happened over millions of years, with each new species of humans becoming more advanced. The idea of evolution was first introduced by Charles Darwin in his book On the Origin of Species in 1859. Today, we have an even better understanding of evolution thanks to the work of many other scientists. Human evolution can be studied through fossils and human remains like bones. Scientists carefully find fossils and bones, and examine them, in order to understand how humans slowly evolved from apes.
What were early human species like?
According to evidence collected by scientists, the earliest humans evolved from apes around 5 million years ago in Africa. The oldest species of humans slowly started to walk on two legs, even though they still mainly lived in trees. It was around 2 million years ago that early humans began to walk in an upright position like modern humans do today. They lost the ability to climb trees. These early humans also began to develop bigger brains than previous humans. This means that they were more intelligent than before. Around this time, the early humans began to slowly move outside Africa and migrated to different areas such as Europe and Asia.
How did modern humans evolve?
Modern humans evolved from these early species of humans around 300,000 years ago. However, the evolution of modern humans is still debated by scientists. There are two different opinions about how the early human species evolved into modern humans. One theory says that modern humans evolved from the early humans that were already living in various parts of the world. This means that modern humans evolved in different locations, at different times. Another theory says that modern humans first evolved in Africa, and then migrated into different areas of the world. Any other species of humans living in the world were replaced by these modern humans.