In 1859 a scientist called Charles Darwin published a book, On the Origin of Species, explaining how the great diversity of living things may have come about. Darwin suggested that evolution within a species may result in the formation of a new species. This suggests that species which are alive on Earth today have evolved from other species which lived in the past and may still exist today. Darwin also came up with a theory about how evolution takes place. Darwin’s theory is known as evolution by natural selection.
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Fig. 3 Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)
What evidence did Darwin have to support his theory of evolution by natural selection?
The tree of life Darwin’s theory suggests that all of the millions of species alive on the planet today have evolved from other species, many of which are now extinct. Darwin suggested that you could trace the evolution of every species back to the very first living thing. Darwin called this idea the tree of life. Species which are closely related are found near to each other on the tree of life.
Chimpanzee Gorilla Orangutan Human
4.5 - 6 12 - 16
million years ago
6 - 8
million years ago
Fig. 4 A section of the tree of life.
Fig. 4 shows part of the tree of life. It is a bit like a family tree. This particular part of the tree of life shows that humans are related to other apes including chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The tree does not suggest that humans evolved from chimpanzees; it suggests that humans and chimpanzees have a common ancestor. Scientists think that the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees lived around 5 million years ago.
