Once upon a time (the era of the Upper Miocene) in the territories of East Africa and North India, creatures lived, possibly being the evolutionary predecessors of modern people. Subsequently, they spread throughout Asia and Europe. These were driopithecus.
In this article we will try to answer questions that relate to these creatures: what are dryopithecus, period of life, habitat, structural features, as well as learn general information about the development of all mankind.
A bit about the history of the Earth
Compared with the entire history of the development of mankind, the Tertiary period lasted quite a long time (70 - 1 million years ago).
Moreover, the significance of this period in the entire history of the Earth, especially in the development of the plant and animal worlds, is enormous. In those days, there were many changes in the appearance of the entire globe: mountain areas, bays, rivers and seas appeared, the outlines of almost all continents changed greatly. Mountains arose: the Caucasus, Alps, Carpathians, there was a rise in the central part of Asia (Pamir and the Himalayas).
Changes in flora and fauna
Along with this, there has been progress in changes in the plant and animal world. The dominance of animals (mammals) appeared. And the most important and significant thing is that at the end of the Tertiary period the immediate ancestors of modern man arose . Among them are driopithecus, whose life span is almost 9 million years.
On the hypotheses of human origin
At the very end of the process of the general development of living organisms, man arose. It occupies the highest stage of development. Now it is the only human species on Earth - "Homo sapiens" (in other words - "Homo sapiens").
In general, there are many hypotheses about the origin of people. According to religious concepts, everything, including man, was created by God (Allah) from the soil (moist earth). The Sun and the Earth were originally created, then water, soil, the moon, stars and, finally, animals. Subsequently, Adam appeared, and then his companion Eve. And as a consequence of this, the final stage is the origin of the rest of the people. Subsequently, with the development of sciences, new views on the question of the emergence of man appeared.
For example, the Swedish scientist K. Linney (1735) created a system of all existing living organisms. As a result, he identified a person in a squad of primates (a class of mammals) and gave the name "Homo sapiens".
And the French natural scientist J. B. Lamarck also held the opinion of the origin of people from the apes.
Darwin's predecessors of humans are driopithecus (the Miocene period of life).
Stages of life of human predecessors and their names
According to modern paleontological studies, the most ancient human precursors are primitive mammals (insectivores), which gave rise to the subfamily of parapithecus.
Before we learn who Dryopithecus is (their life span), we will define other subspecies.
The emergence of parapithecus dates back to about 35 million years ago. These are the so-called wood monkeys, from which modern orangutans, gibbons and dryopithecus originate.
What are driopithecus? These are semi-wood and semi-terrestrial creatures that appeared about 18 million years ago. They gave rise to Australopithecus, modern gorillas and chimpanzees.
Australopithecus, in turn, arose 5 or more million years ago in the steppes of Africa. They were already highly developed monkeys moving on 2 hind limbs, but in a half-bent state. Perhaps they gave rise to the so-called Skilled Man.
"Skillful man" was formed about 3 million years ago. He is considered the ancestor of archanthropes. It was at this stage that they turned into a person, since during this period the first most primitive tools of labor were made. Archanthropists had certain rudiments of speech, and they could use fire.
Then came the Ancient people - Neanderthals (Paleoanthropes).
The division of labor already existed during this period: women were engaged in the processing of carcasses of animals, in the collection of edible plants, and men were engaged in hunting and made tools for labor and hunting.
And finally, Modern people (or Neoanthropes) are Cro-Magnons. They are representatives of Homo sapiens, which appeared about 50 thousand years ago and lived tribal communities. They were engaged in agriculture, tamed animals. The rudiments of culture and religion appeared.
Dryopithecus: period of life, habitat, structural features
The remains of this species were found in Miocene and Pliocene deposits. Among them, according to the truth, only some scientists are the ancestors of the apes and the man himself.
They lived in Western Europe (18-9 million years ago). There are confirming similar findings in East Africa and North India. Both externally and in their behavior, they were very similar to chimpanzees and gorillas, but a little more primitive.
Not many facts have been preserved to accurately judge their habits and habits. They only give an approximate idea of how dryopithecus lived (period of life, habitat, nutrition, etc.). Most likely, they mainly ate different vegetation (wild berries, fruits, herbs), but simply lived on trees.
In their external characteristics and behavior, they resemble modern chimpanzees and baboons: their length reached an average of 60 centimeters, and body weight ranged from 20 to 35 kg. In terms of transportation methods, driopithecus resemble modern gibbons and orangutans.
They are characterized by a better development of the upper limbs, which have lost their participation in their movement.
There are also features: they had binocular vision and a more developed central nervous system.
Meaning of the word “dryopithecus”
The word driopithecus (Dryopithecinae) comes from the Greek “drýs” - a tree and a monkey from “píthekos", that is, monkeys living on trees.
Common signs of animals and humans
Dryopithecus is an extinct subfamily of anthropoid apes. The very first find of this fossil occurred in 1856 in France near Saint-Gaudens, in sediments from 15 to 18 million years old. Darwin, who knew about this, considered Dryopithecus an ancestor of both humans and anthropomorphic monkeys (Africa) - chimpanzees and gorillas.
The structure of its jaw and teeth, combining in itself the signs of both people and anthropoids, testifies to the kinship of dryopithecus with people. The lower molars of the dryopithecus are very similar in structure to human molars, while at the same time, strongly developed fangs and the presence of certain characters are more typical of anthropomorphic monkeys.
Closest to all people is the Darwin Dryopithecus, whose life span is the Middle Miocene. His remains were found in Austria.
About other modern representatives of the ape genus
The “younger brothers” of those distant ancestors of people lagged hopelessly behind, and remained on the other side of the evolutionary path leading from the monkey to man. Some of the species of monkeys (the end of the Tertiary period) increasingly adapted to live only on trees, so they forever became attached to the rainforest.
The development of other highly developed monkeys in the struggle for their existence led to an increase in the size of their bodies, to their enlargement. Thus, huge meganthropes and gigantopithecus arose. Their remains were found in southern China. The same type of modern gorilla. Moreover, their strength and size during life in the forest grew to the detriment and to the detriment of the evolution of their brain.
Conclusion
There are still a lot of controversial questions and answers to them regarding the emergence and development of man. Perhaps new finds of the remains will help answer them.
It should be noted that the remains of an apes have been found recently even in Georgia. Presumably, this species is specifically related to the driopithecus, and it was given the name udnopiteka (according to the name of the area Udabno).