Question

If humans have evolved from chimpanzees, how come here are still chimpanzees around?

Answer 1

This is a common misconception. Evolution does not assert that human evolved from chimpanzees. Rather, the great apes of the hominidae family (chimps, gorillas, orangutans, and humans, are said to have shared a common ancestor.

Different circumstances/environments would have favored different traits. Over time, evolution resulted the ancestral population splitting along that phylogenetic tree.
Anyway, there is just way too much information to post here about evolution and human ancestry, but I hope that simple tidbit answers your original question.

TL;DR version:
We didn't evolve from chimpanzees; instead, we share a common ancestor. If you look at the attached file, you should be able to see where the split occurred.
Scientist believe as a whole that the split occurred nearly 5 million years ago. Even with this being true, humans and chimps are about 98% genetically identical.

Answer 2

Clearly I didn't attach a file, so here is the one I mentioned.

Answer 3

So scientist believe chimpanzees existed 5 millions ago and they haven't evolved at all?

Answer 4

I did not say anything like that. Not only did the split itself take a long amount of time to actually occur, but once two different populations have speciated, they will continue to evolve.

Again, what follows is a major simplification. Think of depictions of cave men. Those are called humans, right? But they had to go through some major evolution to be what we know as humans today.

Also, your questions are phrased in such a way that they feel like you are trolling this forum. I hope that's not the case, because I will not participate if that is what follows.

Answer 5

I didn't said you said it, now don't get all defensive. I'm just trying to make a little sense here. Now in the graph below it agrees in your answer that the split fork was made about 5 million years ago. As for humans went they evolved in an incredibly rate rather compared to the other paths. What you think were the causes for that course to happen?

Answer 6

Until we have genetic evidence of the other primate lineages that stretches way way back we cant say that we evolved faster than the other primates. Read up on the mechanics of evolution and human genetic distributions, it will help your quest far more than can be typed on this forum.

Answer 7

I agree with Zud, and I am sorry if I seemed defensive. I have just seen how posts on message boards can easily run off track and into tangential arguments very easily.

In any case, I hope that helped with your questions. Good luck!

Answer 8

Hi can you help me with my problem, if you can?

Answer 9

Perhaps was my fault as well, I think I asked the wrong question. I was just completely thrown off by the "Man Meets Dog" publish by Konrad Lorenz. The power of domestication to change shape and behavior of wild animal, and the speed with which it does so. All proven by "molecular genetic (evidence)."

Answer 10

Recent evidence shows that the earth is only about 7,000 years old.

Answer 11

All this is well and good.

Give man time - a very little more time, in terms of climate change and habitat destruction - and man might very well 'out compete' chimpanzees and quite a few other species on the planet.