Evolution in Anthropology

Out of the Trees
Primate Evolution

Fossils representing the precursors of the primates may go back before the extinction of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. There are some primate-like teeth and bones found in Montana and Wyoming, dated from 60 to 65 maya. But the first undisputed primates appear about 55 maya. These early primates, despite the modern primate arboreal theme, may not themselves have been arboreal. As these primates continue to evolve, these basic traits prove a useful adaptive response to a more generalized life in the trees. Later the eastern and western hemispheres became completely separate, dividing the early primates into two geographical groups. The early new world primates were apparently replaced by more advanced monkey like primates that migrated from Africa to the Americas when the two continents were closer together by “island hopping” over a chain of volcanic islands or by rafting. Apes appear in the fossil record about 23 maya. Wit...