Caird, Rod: Ape Man. The Story of Human Evolution

INGE DARWIN dropped his bombshell of evolutionary theory, we humans have been fascinated by our journey of development from Ape to Man. Two huge questions predominate: where did we come from, and what is it that makes us human? The struggle to answer these questions has led scientists down blind alleys, into ferocious disputes, and even to Staging an outright fraud. Over the past twenty years there have been huge advances in our understanding. We now know that the chemical make-up of humans and chimpanzees differs by less than two percent. But as yet no-one has conclusively traced a clear line of inheritance all the way from our last ancestor in common with the chimps, through to modern humans, Homo sapiens. What are the key features which set us apart from chimpanzees and gorillas, our nearest relatives? What made the earliest humans stand up straight and walk on two legs? Why did we develop our big and powerful brains? When and why did we Start to use language and begin to create pictures, sculptures and Symbols? Based on interviews with leading scientists working all over the world, APE MAN explores the story of our evolution, and of the people who have devoted their lives to discovering the truth about our origins. There have been many species of human-like creatures in the past. Now, all but Homo sapiens are extinct. If we can understand the past, we may be able to understand why we are the way we are today. And perhaps we can find clues to our future.