Dear Ancestor

A recent paleontological discovery in China resulted in what is now determined to be the most ancient primate from which we humans descended. (Yes, Virginia, we evolved from monkeys.) This dear little ancestor, dubbed Archicebus achilles (it means “ancient monkey”), lived 55 million years ago, during a global warming period when Earth was far hotter and more humid than today. (Although we descendants currently seem bent on returning the climate to that hellish situation.) 

This little critter was tiny. It was about three inches long, weighed about an ounce, had a tail longer than its little body, long legs, a round face, and big eyes. It was about the size of a small songbird. This is our—yours and my—forebear: a wee runt of a thing that we could easily hold in the palm of our hand and allow it room to do somersaults, without it falling off. It ate insects, as the drawing shows.

 

Archicebus achilles (let me call it “primeval primate”) came into being just after the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid, some 65 million years ago. Before this tiny mammal existed, tiny shrew-like creatures scampered around the underbrush, doing their best to avoid being squashed by a mighty dinosaur. When the dinos disappeared, mammals flourished. It was our turn to dominate the Earth.

From this small primeval primate, gorillas evolved, some eight million years ago. Chimpanzees and bonobos split off from gorillas a few million years later and the first human-like critters came into being about four million years ago.

What is fascinating is that this dear ancestor seems to have originated in China. Since our hominid ancestors came into being much later in Africa, this primeval primate had to have floated its way to Africa at some point (which was an island at the time, when sea levels were much higher). We humans evolved on that continent and later migrated back out of Africa (120-60 thousand years ago) to inhabit the entire globe. So our deepest primate ancestor originated in China, its descendants found their way into Africa, and their descendants (humans) migrated out of Africa and spread over the Earth.

We've been on the move ever since. Many people believe we will one day leave Earth for outer space habitats. Maybe so. Maybe we'll have to leave, since we're despoiling this lovely little planet at a record pace. Maybe we'll evolve back into little creatures like dear ancestor, who could thrive on a hot, humid planet. The evolutionary beat goes on.