The Importance Of Ancestor/Descendant Relationships
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There is often a lot of confusion regarding primate classification in common discourse. It is not unusual to hear people claim that a chimpanzee or a lemur is a monkey while at a zoo. While this error is understandable for the most part, it reflects a trend in oversimplification suggesting the terms “primate” and “Monkey” mean the same thing.
Such conversations are not only overheard at zoos but often bleed into pseudo-academic arguments. I recently read through a long thread arguing that humans are technically apes. The discussion was heated and confident but very much misguided.
There are two overarching problems with the statements referred to above. The first is simply a confusion about what the different primate groups are and which traits are associated with each. Some basic knowledge could set this inexperienced zoogoer straight. The second issue is more complex. The mildly informed (yet remarkably self-assured) individual arguing that we are apes might lack a firm grip on classification and the notion of ancestor-descendant relationships. In their case, it would be rather simple for someone to respond, “we are not apes, we are humans. It just so happens, however, that humans and apes are also Hominoids. Ape and Hominoid are not the same classification.”
The problem can be summed up as this. On the whole, people don’t understand the diversity of primates and those who do, have difficulty understanding how to classify individual species. The confusion lies in not understanding the traits associated with each group and not understanding how groups are related to each other. Concerning the latter point, it is difficult to understand how we can belong to the same group as many other primates (say Anthropoids) but also be different from other members of that group. This is the reason we can still hear people ask, “if I evolved from monkeys, then why are monkeys still here?”
For this question you will need to create a single response that addresses each issue.
You will need to include:
-A general opening about what primates are
-What the different broad groupings are and how they can be identified
-The difference between gradistic and cladistic classification
-The importance of ancestor/descendant relationships
-A discussion on how we are classified as humans and hominoids but not apes
-Why monkeys still exist if we evolved from them
Remember, you are writing this essay as a response to the statements above. Write this as if you were trying to teach them why they are mistaken. Please do not answer each bullet point as if it were its own question. They are simply the concepts that should be included in your response. Have some fun with this, as if you were making the argument directly to these individuals.
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