Summary: The Evolution Of Primate Evolution

The evolution of primates has brought up so much debate and discussion over the years. Scientists, still to this day, are conducting research and observing facts on how and why primates have evolved throughout time. The study of primate evolution dates back all the way to Charles Darwin’s time where he proposed the processes of natural selection which is a very slow but gradual procedure. Since the time of Darwin’s theory some “factors that have influenced or are currently shaping community structures include historical circumstances, climate and habitats, productivity and food resources, and species interactions” (Reed and Bidner, 2004). The origin and evolution of primates has changed so much and is still constantly changing. From analyzing …show more content…
When mentioning the perspective of how primates have changed over time, Ian Tattersall says that the “diversity in the natural world and the search for origins, however difficult, or perhaps ultimately futile, is worth pursuing for he insights it offers regarding how extant species, including our own, came to be the way they are” (Fleagle, 2012). The way scientists have been able to observe how these primates have evolved and their origins is through fossils. According to Erik Seiffert, they have been able to discover the primates’ evolution in between the locations of Africa and Asia. The scientists in this region have observed the transformation of the primates’ bones which has helped us to better understand really how much they have evolved over the years. Not only have scientists observed the fossils of the primates, but they have tested the evolved reproduction of them as well. Johnathan Wells talks about the perspective of breeding and reproduction and how that has distinguished its similarities to humans because of the “longevity, cooperative breeding, short interbirth intervals, slow maturation, and a complex pattern of fat storage” (Fleagle, 2012). These perspectives of primate evolution help support the argument about how the early primates have evolved to be alike humans. The personal development, the social communities, and the perspectives of primate evolution are all huge factors of how much the primates really have changed over the course of time. It is things like natural selection and continuous reproduction in a community which force the primates to evolve over time in an attempt to help them better adapt to their environment. This helps us to really look deeply into the evolution of primates because there are so many different things that have helped these primates