Evolution Takes a Hit

The theory of straight line evolution from pond scum to human took a hit with the discovery of another humanoid-like fossil in Africa that suggests that there was more than one ape-being forebear to modern man running around at the same time:

Anthropologists have tended to see the evolution of Homo species as a linear progression, beginning with H. habilis and passing through H. erectus before ending up with modern humans. But it seems the path through time was broad enough for more than one species to walk abreast, with H. erectus and H. habilis living in the same place at the same time for as much as half a million years. Spoor and his colleagues argue that this makes it less likely that H. erectus was a direct descendant of H. habilis, instead suggesting that there is a common ancestor yet to find.

The two species are thought to have lived side by side in much the same way as modern chimps and gorillas coexist in central regions of Africa — by adopting different habits and diets. "To live in the same area for half a million years they must have found their own niches — different diets, maybe different migratory routes — to minimize competition," says Spoor. "When food is scarce, when there's a drought or something, it becomes very important that you're not in each other's way."

Isn't it also possible that they were just a prehistoric gorilla and chimp? Science assumes these critters evolved "up" so to speak to become humans, but what if they were just early apes that have been evolving down to where they are today? That makes as much sense as any other theory.