• Question: how far back do our ancesters go

    Asked by cberry to Hitesh, Hywel, Mae, Nik, Tiffany on 13 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Tiffany Taylor

      Tiffany Taylor answered on 13 Jun 2012:

      Well technically our ancestors go all the way back to about 4 billion years ago, when the first life forms appeared on the planet. Since then we have been evolving over a VERY long time, and that original little life form has become all the life you see around you. Pretty cool huh?

      But, in more recent terms, we are considered to be grouped with the great apes, that is: Chimpanzees, Gorillas and Orang-utans. And it is believed humans and orang-utans shared a common ancestor about 14 million years ago, humans and gorillas about 8 million years ago, and humans and chimps about 5 – 6 million years ago. That doesn’t mean humans evolved FROM chimpanzees, it mean we SHARE A COMMON ANCESTOR. It’s a common mistake.

    • Photo: Mae Woods

      Mae Woods answered on 15 Jun 2012:

      Yes they go back as far as the beginning of life itself and did you know you can try to trace the most recent ones by looking at the type of bacteria living in the gut.

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