Evolution: Misconception or Reality
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This job considers the following statements about human evolution. Which are well supported by scientific evidence and which are misconceptions?
a. Humans evolved from apes.
b. Human evolutionary history is more like a multibranched bush rather than a single unbranched ladder, our species being the tip of one human branch that still exists.
c. During the course of hominin history many species of humans (genus Homo) existed, but none of them ever coexisted at the same time.
d. Ancient hominins hunted dinosaurs as a food source.
e. Our understanding of human ancestry and evolution is complete
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Solution Summary
Evolution as a misconception or reality is the debated topic.
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These are some of the most commonly asked questions about our origins. You will often hear the same questions asked in the form of a challenge from people who prefer to think that humans are God's special creations. For this reason alone, I believe, the answers you give are especially important. Because evolution is a very broad and very deep subject (it is, as far as the organic world is concerned, THE story of everything). So, when you answer these questions, it's best if you can bring as many independent lines of evidence to bear on the question. So, in this response, I'll be asking you, simply, to pay attention to the various lines of evidence that converge on the answer.
a. Humans evolved from apes. You need to find answers to some or all of the following questions to persuade anybody whether or not we are descended from apes. First, you're in a university class that focuses on human biology. You can approach the question from a number of different levels, all having to do with biology. For example, at a sub-microscopic level, how similar is human DNA to that of a) the great apes, b) the other primates, c) other mammals, and d) other animals? I think if ...
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