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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WORLD HISTORY GIVES NO ACCOUNT OF THE HOMINID TALKING AT ALL NATURALLY IN AFRICA OR EITHER IN EUROPE.
In Europe ten to twelve million years ago, primates divided into two branches, one included species leading to modern (current) humans and the other ...
Ten to twelve million years ago, primates divided into two branches, one included species leading to modern (current) humans and the other branch to the great apes that include gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans. The branch leading to modern humans included several different species.
The First Primates
Primatetes are remarkably recent animals. Most animal species flourished and became extinct long before the first monkeys and their prosimian ancestors evolved. While the earth is about 4.54 billion years old and the first life dates to at least 3.5 million years ago, the first primates did not appear until around 50-55 million years ago. That was10-15 million years after the dinosaurs had become extinct.
Transitional primate-like creatures were evolving by the end of the Mesozoic Era (ca. 65.5 million years ago). At that time, the world was very different from today. The continents were in other locations and they had somewhat different shapes. North America was still connected to Europe but not to South America. India was not yet part of Asia but heading towards it at a surprisingly rapid rate of nearly 8 inches (20 cm.) per year. Australia was close to Antarctica. Most land masses had warm tropical or subtropical climates.
The flora and founa at the end of the Mesozoic Era would