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These are ones that everyone agrees are not pre-human intermediates
between apes and humans.
- Homo sapiens neanderthalensis (Neandertal man) - 150 years ago
Neandertal reconstructions were stooped and very much like an
'ape-man'. It is now admitted that the supposedly stooped posture
was due to disease and that Neandertal is just a variation of the
human kind.
- Ramapithecus - once widely regarded as the ancestor of humans, it
has now been realised that it is merely an extinct type of orangutan
(an ape).
- Eoanthropus (Piltdown man) - a hoax based on a human skull cap and
an orangutan's jaw. It was widely publicized as the missing link for
40 years.
- Hesperopithecus (Nebraska man) - based on a single tooth of a type
of pig now only living in Paraguay.
- Pithecanthropus (Java man) - now renamed to Homo erectus. See
below.
- Australopithecus africanus - this was at one time promoted as the
missing link. It is no longer considered to be on the line from apes
to humans. It is very ape-like.
- Sinanthropus (Peking man) was once presented as an ape-man but has
now been reclassified as Homo erectus (see below).
Currently fashionable ape-men
These are the ones that adorn the evolutionary trees of today that
supposedly led to Homo sapiens from a chimpanzee-like creature.
- Australopithecus - there are various species of these that have
been at times proclaimed as human ancestors. One remains:
Australopithecus afarensis, popularly known as the fossil 'Lucy'.
However, detailed studies of the inner ear, skulls and bones have
suggested that 'Lucy' and her like are not on the way to becoming
human. For example, they may have walked more upright than most
apes, but not in the human manner. Australopithecus afarensis is
very similar to the pygmy chimpanzee.
- Homo habilis - there is a growing consensus amongst most
paleoanthropologists that this category actually includes bits and
pieces of various other types - such as Australopithecus and Homo
erectus. It is therefore an 'invalid taxon'. That is, it never
existed as such.
- Homo erectus - many remains of this type have been found around
the world. They are smaller than the average human today, with an
appropriately smaller head (and brain size). However, the brain size
is within the range of people today and studies of the middle ear
have shown that Homo erectus was just like us. Remains have been
found in the same strata and in close proximity to ordinary Homo
sapiens, suggesting that they lived together.
Conclusion: There is no fossil evidence that man is the product of
evolution. The missing links are still missing because they simply do
not exist. The Bible clearly states, "then the Lord God formed man
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7).
Article from Answers in Genesis
http://www.answersingenesis.org
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