MISSING LINKS AND DAWN MONKEYS

Paleoanthropology is the scientific study of human origins. In the
strictest sense, paleoanthropologists seek to illuminate the evolutionary
history of the human lineage as it evolved from our more apelike ancestors.
Fossil hominids are the crown jewels of paleoanthropology. Without
them, theories about when, where, and how our species evolved
would be helter-skelter, unconstrained by hard data. One of the great triumphs
of twentieth century science has been the recovery of an amazing
diversity of hominid fossils, mainly from eastern and southern Africa,
but also from various parts of Eurasia, ranging from France and Spain
to China and Indonesia. Discoveries of new fossil hominids continue unabated.
Considered as a whole, the fossil record of early humans is now

complete enough that, at least in broad strokes, we know how humans
evolved from more apelike precursors. Virtually all paleoanthropologists
agree, for example, that the human lineage originated sometime between
five and seven million years ago in Africa, and that early humans acquired
the ability to walk upright on two legs millions of years before their brains
enlarged much beyond those of chimpanzees.2