Science: The Case for a Living Link

Pygmy chimp may be the common ancestor of man and ape

Since the publication more than a century ago of Darwin's The Descent of Man, scientists have become increasingly convinced that man shares a common ancestor with chimpanzees and gorillas. But who, or what, was that kindred beast? And when did the momentous split occur? At what point did primate evolution begin taking one route that led to the great apes of Africa, another to man? Paleontologists generally believe, on the basis of bits and pieces of fossils millions of years old, that the common ancestor may have been the small, long...

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