question: Why, of all animals, is it the descendants of apes that now run the world?
comment: We aren't just descendents. We are actual apes. But it's because we were the most successful. We weren't the strongest hominid, or the most intelligent. We were just more successful.
passages: Man, therefore, is not the outcome of the evolution from a common ancestor to the primates, but rather the exponent of an eternal anthropic principle. Monkeys, apes, and other primates are instead the outcome of certain sub-sects of ancient humanity copulating with animals, and are in a complete state of devolution.
   The following table lists the estimated number of great ape individuals living outside zoos.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- Bili ape
  
  BULLET::::- "Dawn of Humanity" (2015 PBS film)
  
  BULLET::::- Great ape language
  
  BULLET::::- Great ape research ban
  
  BULLET::::- Great Apes Survival Partnership
  
  BULLET::::- Kinshasa Declaration on Great Apes
  
  BULLET::::- List of human evolution fossils
  
  BULLET::::- List of individual apes
  
  BULLET::::- Oldest hominids
  
  BULLET::::- "Prehistoric Autopsy" (2012 BBC documentary)
  
  BULLET::::- Primate cognition
  
  BULLET::::- "The Mind of an Ape"
  
  BULLET::::- Timeline of human evolution
  
  Section::::External links.
   Section::::Relevance to Marxist thought.
   In the "Descent of Man", Darwin speculated that humans had descended from apes, which still had small brains but walked upright, freeing their hands for uses which favoured intelligence; he thought such apes were African:
   Section::::Development.:Columbus and Cameron.
   The website also quotes Sydney Suissa, Executive Vice President of Content, National Geographic Channels International:
  
  "With their capacity for memory, communication and even problem solving, apes may be more closely related to humans than we previously thought The "Human Ape" uses unique scientific research and some amazing 4d technology to examine our relationship with apes, enlightening viewers about our primate cousins."
  
  Al Setka, Great Ape Trust communications director, is also quoted by the site:
   Many traits of human intelligence, such as empathy, theory of mind, mourning, ritual, and the use of symbols and tools, are apparent in great apes although in less sophisticated forms than found in humans, such as great ape language.
  
  Section::::History.
  
  Section::::History.:Hominidae.
   The history of hominoid taxonomy is complex and somewhat confusing. Recent evidence has changed our understanding of the relationships between the hominoids, especially regarding the human lineage; and the traditionally used terms have become somewhat confused. Competing approaches to methodology and terminology are found among current scientific sources. Over time, authorities have changed the names and the meanings of names of groups and subgroups as new evidence—that is, new discoveries of fossils and tools and of observations in the field, plus continual comparisons of anatomy and DNA sequences—has changed the understanding of relationships between hominoids. There has been a gradual demotion of humans from being 'special' in the taxonomy to being one branch among many. This recent turmoil (of history) illustrates the growing influence on all taxonomy of cladistics, the science of classifying living things strictly according to their lines of descent.
   The timeline of human evolution spans some 7 million years, from the separation of the genus "Pan" until the emergence of behavioral modernity by 50,000 years ago. Of this timeline, the first 3 million years concern "Sahelanthropus", the following 2 million concern "Australopithecus", while the final 2 million span the history of actual "Homo" species (the Paleolithic).
  
  Many traits of human intelligence, such as empathy, theory of mind, mourning, ritual, and the use of symbols and tools, are already apparent in great apes although in lesser sophistication than in humans.
   Non-human great apes are found in 21 countries in Africa (Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) and in two countries in South East Asia (Malaysia and Indonesia).
   Hominidae
  
  The Hominidae (), whose members are known as great apes or hominids, are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: "Pongo", the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan; "Gorilla", the eastern and western gorilla; "Pan", the common chimpanzee and the bonobo; and "Homo", which includes modern humans and their extinct relatives (e.g., the Neanderthal), and ancestors, such as "Homo erectus".
   Section::::Genetic differences between humans and other great apes.:Gene loss.:Myosin gene MYH16.
  
  Stedman "et al." (2004) stated that the loss of the sarcomeric myosin gene MYH16 in the human lineage led to smaller masticatory muscles. They estimated that the mutation that led to the inactivation (a two base pair deletion) occurred 2.4 million years ago, predating the appearance of "Homo ergaster/erectus" in Africa. The period that followed was marked by a strong increase in cranial capacity, promoting speculation that the loss of the gene may have removed an evolutionary constraint on brain size in the genus "Homo".
   DNA and anthropologic data consider modern humans ("Homo sapiens sapiens") a primate and the descendants of ape-like species. Species of the genus ‘Homo’ are all extinct except humans, which are thought to have evolved from australopithecine ancestors originating in East Africa. The development of the modern human has taken place over some 300,000 years and unique adaptations have resulted from ecological pressures that "Homo Sapiens" has faced. Due prominently to ecological and behavioral factors, the modern human muscular system differs greatly from that of our early primate ancestors. These adaptations and changes have allowed "Homo sapiens" to function as they do today.
   A small African ape living around 6 Ma was the last animal whose descendants would include both modern humans and their closest relatives, the chimpanzees. Only two branches of its family tree have surviving descendants. Very soon after the split, for reasons that are still unclear, apes in one branch developed the ability to walk upright. Brain size increased rapidly, and by 2 Ma, the first animals classified in the genus "Homo" had appeared. Of course, the line between different species or even genera is somewhat arbitrary as organisms continuously change over generations. Around the same time, the other branch split into the ancestors of the common chimpanzee and the ancestors of the bonobo as evolution continued simultaneously in all life forms.
   Schoetensack - like many of his colleagues around the beginning of the 20th century - was wrong with his assessment of kinship proximity of the lower jaw of Mauer with the apes (hominids): "The mandible of "Homo heidelbergensis" reveals the original state that defines mankind's and the ape's common ancestor." In 1924, the hitherto oldest fossil of the big pool of hominid variants - the Taung Child was discovered in what is now South Africa. It is around two million years older than the lower jaw of Mauer and despite its advanced age, still does not represent the common base of humans and apes.
   Section::::Themes.
  
  Section::::Themes.:Race.
   Section::::Legacy and adaptations.
   During the later Miocene the climate in Europe started to change as the Himalayas were rising and European became cooler and drier. About 9.5 million years ago tropical forest in Europe was replaced by woodlands which were less suitable for Great Apes and the Great Apes left Europe and went back to Africa to later evolve into Homininae to (yet again) leave Africa millions of years later.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- History of hominoid taxonomy
  
  BULLET::::- Gibbon–human last common ancestor
  
  BULLET::::- Gorilla–human last common ancestor
  
  BULLET::::- Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor
  
  BULLET::::- List of human evolution fossils
   After the release of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," director Rupert Wyatt commented on possible sequels: "I think we're ending with certain questions, which is quite exciting. To me, I can think of all sorts of sequels to this film, but this is just the beginning." Screenwriter and producer Rick Jaffa also stated that "Rise" featured several clues as to future sequels: "I hope that we're building a platform for future films. We're trying to plant a lot of the seeds for a lot of the things you are talking about in terms of the different apes and so forth."
   BULLET::::- Jamie Harris as Rodney, a caretaker and a nightwatchman who is much kinder to the apes at the sanctuary and is regularly mocked by Dodge for this.
  
  BULLET::::- David Hewlett as Hunsiker, Will's hot-headed neighbor.
  
  BULLET::::- Chelah Horsdal as Irena, a nurse who is looking after Charles.
  
  Section::::Cast.:Apes.
   Another such region on chromosome 4 may contain elements regulating the expression of a nearby protocadherin gene that may be important for brain development and function. Although changes in expression of genes that are expressed in the brain tend to be less than for other organs (such as liver) on average, gene expression changes in the brain have been more dramatic in the human lineage than in the chimp lineage. This is consistent with the dramatic divergence of the unique pattern of human brain development seen in the human lineage compared to the ancestral great ape pattern. The protocadherin-beta gene cluster on chromosome 5 also shows evidence of possible positive selection.
   Taking place ten years after "Rise", "Dawn" follows Caesar's growing nation of evolved apes. Andy Serkis, Terry Notary and Karin Konoval reprise their roles as Caesar, Rocket and Maurice. James Franco returned as Will Rodman in a "cameo via video". "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" was released July 11, 2014.
   The film also briefly touches upon the relationship between the modified FOXP2 gene and the human language development. It documents a British family with a mutated FOXP2 gene which severely affects speech of its members.
  
  Stuart Carter, Managing Director, Pioneer Productions was quoted by the website:
  
  "We have long had a fascination with our genetic similarities to apes, and this film explores the question of how far these similarities go. Pioneer Productions specialises in cutting-edge scientific documentaries and this 2 hour landmark programme provides viewers with a fascinating insight into what really makes us human."
   Section::::Reception.
  
  Section::::Reception.:Box office.
   Formerly, all the great apes except humans were classified as the family Pongidae, which conveniently provided for separating the human family from the apes; see The "great apes" in Pongidae. As noted above, such a definition would make a paraphyletic grouping of the Pongidae great apes. Current evidence indicates that humans share a common ancestor with the chimpanzee line—from which they separated more recently than from the gorilla line; see Gorillas the outgroup
  
raw_presuppositions: Humans are just descendants of apes. Humans are descendants of apes.
raw_corrections: Humans are actual apes. Humans are actual apes.