Missing links : Still missing
Here is a summary of facts relating to some of the best known fossils.
Defunct ape-men
These are ones claimed at various times as intermediates between apes and humans but now rejected by evolutionists themselves.
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man) – 150 years ago Neanderthal reconstructions were stooped, very much like an ‘ape-man’. Many now admit that the stooped posture was due to disease (such as rickets) and that Neanderthals were human, fully able to speak, artistic and religious.1 (see topic: Neanderthal Man - Fully Human )
Ramapithecus – Once widely regarded as the ancestor of humans, it has now been recognised as merely an extinct type of orangutan (an ape).
Eoanthropus (Piltdown Man) – a hoax based on a human skull cap and an orangutan’s jaw. It was widely publicised as the missing link for 40 years, and it was not even a competent forgery.
Hesperopithecus (Nebraska man) – based on a single tooth of a type of pig now living only in Paraguay.
Pithecanthropus (Java man) – now regarded as human and called Homo erectus (see below).
Australopithecus africanus – this was at one time promoted as the missing link. It is very ape-like and evolutionists no longer consider it to be transitional.
Sinanthropus (Peking man) – has now been reclassified as Homo erectus, of the human kind (see below).
Currently fashionable ‘ape-men’
These ‘ape-men’ adorn the evolutionary trees today that supposedly trace how Homo sapiens evolved from a chimp-like creature
Australopithecus – Various species of these have been proclaimed at times as human ancestors. One remains: Australopithecus afarensis, popularly known by the fossil ‘Lucy’. However, detailed studies of the inner ear, skulls and bones indicate that ‘Lucy’ and her like are not part-human transitions. For example, they may have walked differently to most apes, but not in the human manner. Australopithecus afarensis is very similar to the pygmy chimpanzee, or bonobo.
Homo habilis – there is a growing consensus among most palaeoanthropologists that this is a ‘junk’ category. It actually includes bits and pieces of various other types – such as Australopithecus and Homo erectus. It is therefore an ‘invalid taxon’. Such a creature never existed. This was formerly claimed as the ‘clear link’ between apes and humans, but it is no longer valid.
Homo erectus – many remains of this type have been found around the world. This classification now includes Java man (Pithecanthropus) and Peking man (Sinanthropus), which were once promoted as ‘missing links’. Their skulls have prominent brow ridges, similar to Neanderthals; their bodies were just like those of people today, only more robust. The brain size is within the range of people today and studies of the middle ear have shown that Homo erectus walked just like us. Both morphology and associated archaeological/cultural findings in association suggest that Homo erectus was fully human. Some evolutionists now agree that erectus is fully human and should be included in Homo sapiens.2
There is no clear fossil evidence that man evolved from apes. The whole chain of missing links is still missing because they simply never existed.
Considering the history of defunct ‘ape-men’, all new claims should be treated sceptically.
Batten D., Ham K., Sarfati J., Wieland C. The Answers book Ch7, pp. 115-117
1. Lubenow, M.L., 1998, Recovery of Neanderthal mtDNA: an evaluation. CEN Technical Journal 12(1):87-97
2. For example, Milford Wolpoff