posted on Jun, 11 2003 @ 11:12 PM
Well,
There are some posts about this in the aliens/ufo section...
And I'm sure there are people here who can give you a very detailed analysis of human history...
But, most scientists believe that the human race evolved from an ancestral species that the chimpanzee also evolved from. Between 5 and 2 million
years ago, there appeared many species, in the fossil record, that could, for short periods, at least, stand upright, though no scientist can,
honestly, say which fossil species we originate from (in fact, anthropologist fight among themselves, to this day, for the title of the one who found
the 'missing link').
At some point around (and I have to emphasize *around* because the fossil dating is uncertain), 1.5 to about 2 million years ago a species appears in
the fossil record that has been labelled, alternatively, as Homo Erectus or Homo Ergaster (depending on their region/variations). Though the
so-called Homo Habilis appeared before them, these/this was the first species to have a recognizeable body form, and a brain that was significantly
larger than a chimp's.
Various other species popped up until around 200, 000 years ago. at this time, the earliest Homo Sapiens MAY have appeared, but there is a lot of
dispute about that, even. So far as anyone can tell, abstract thinking, in terms of things like art and ceremonial burial, appeared around 30,000
years ago (again, these are uncertain numbers)... and, as abstract thinking is used to delineate modern humans, the species Homo Sapiens Sapiens can
be said to have appeared sometime just before 30,000 years ago...
As to our 'other' origins, it may very well be that these first humans who could paint, build simple structures, perform ceremonies, and use
projectile weapons were, in fact, encouraged by ETs, but there is no hard evidence to support that (though I speculate about that a lot on the ET
threads).
Again, no one is positive as to when the human race began.. Even today's announcements from Ethiopia (concerning the first, supposed, 'human'
skull) do not end the debate.
If I've made some mistakes, i hope that the pro anthropologists out there wil correct me,
Jim