Were We Wrong About The Last Common Ancestor?

Did we evolve from a knuckle walking ape?

Huge thanks as always to my patreons! You can chec out the full conversation with professor DeSilva there.

Sources:

Disclaimer: Use my videos as a rough guide to a topic. I am not an expert, I may get things wrong. This is why I always post my sources so you can critique my work and verify things for yourselves. Of course I aim to be as accurate as possible which is why you will only find reputable sources in my videos. Secondly, information is always subject to changes as new information is uncovered by archaeologists.

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[StefanMilo]

Of course more fossils will change our ideas, just as we now look back on the book from 1965 with different opinions. But I do think this theory 'has legs' (badum tsss) What do you all think?

[robinwatkins]

Omg. I was born in '62, and my mom brought me that Time-Life book on human evolution. Even though I was too young and the text of the book was beyond me, I was fascinated by the idea of evolution. I took the book with me the first time I went to summer camp, instead of a stuffed toy or security blanket.

[TheOriginalCranberyy]

The possibility that knuckle walking evolved 2 separate times was especially interesting to me. I love the content you are putting out. Thank you, Stefan!

[GurungyNoHamuster]

There seems to be a rule of human history, that "Everything Was Earlier" (than the classical account). The more we discover, the earlier everything gets: writing, domesticating animals, understanding the stars...

[abroadingermany]

Shoutout to those who were here when the title read We We Wrong

[jahuti]

This makes a very good point. Knuckle walking is not an obvious form of locomotion and would be more likely to be a specialist adaptation for a larger primate. The example of the gibbon shows very well how our distant ancestors may have walked and then as those which eventually became hominids chose bipedalism, others adopted a different method.

[fretnesbutke]

That book, "Early Man", was one of the joys of my life around age 10 to 17. Stunning artwork in there. The whole 'Time/Life' series was awesome. My concurrent budding interest in Comparative Religion made for a vibrant, if confusing, intellectual life. My youthful passion for dinosaurs and anthropology makes me fully appreciate what we've learned in just a few decades. Questions remain, but so many have been answered. This is a great channel!

[ryanmillichap]

We We Wrong baby, Stefan's putting out such fire content that it has began to melt his brain! :D

[ZekeDarwinScience]

Your videos were always among the best, but you've transcended that over the last year. These are in a league of their own and I'm so thankful you're making this content.

My next video briefly mentions this same thing as it is going to be a dissection of a recent "out of africa debunk" video that brought up Ardi and Lucy- I'll have to mention this video for further learning!

[cabwaylingo_]

the quality of your videos has been amazing recently, this was straight up a mini documentary. really well done stefan!

[jeromebarry]

Stefan, I'd known that the famous art at the beginning of the video had fallen into disfavor among the paleo cognoscenti, but this video is the first to fully explain to me why that is so. Thank you.

[JackMyersPhotography]

When I was a kid, before I started first grade, my neighbor who had just returned from the Vietnam war handed me that book one summer afternoon and told me I could keep it and that I should read it someday when I am able to read. That was the summer before starting Catholic school, and I eventually took that book in for show & tell. I got sent home, with a beating from a horrible Nun who had a beef with Darwin. And that solidified my love of that book and everything in it.

[steven_]

“Why did nuckle walking evolve?” Damn, now I am interested. A follow up on this case would be awesome. Great stuff!

[rgnyc]

It's so refreshing to watch a well-researched scientific lesson. No ancient aliens, no bizarre theories — just science. Thank you! (Side note: I still have a copy of that Time-Life book!)

[StMiBll]

I still have that book on Early Man from 1965. It was my favorite book my collection of the Life Nature Library books. I studied that thing over and over. I love that the video opened with it.

[Sarcaman]

Love your videos Stefan. I always rewatch a few older videos after you upload - I love the way you tell a story and produce your videos. A true gem on YouTube.

[Roger]

I just came to this channel and I'm so incredibly in love with it. The sense of humor, the content, the video style. Ugh I'm subbing!!

I'm so happy I found this channel!

[TheArghnono]

I loved your videos from the start, but I have to say you keep improving them by leaps and bounds every time. This was fascinating and brilliant, and I have to say Prof DeSilva is an excellent science communicator, too!

[CorwinFound]

Stefan, you are an extraordinary science communicator! Your ability to handle both complex scientific topics and to humanize even our most distant ancestors is singular. Love what you are doing and am excited every time I get a notification that a new video is up.
Edit: The quality of your videos has improved so much in the last year or so. Have you approached Nebula? Hell, I think your recent videos are matching the quality you see on Curiosity Stream. Would love to see you on additional platforms.

[larryparis]

Loved that 1965 Time-Life book. It was one of the things that set me on the path to understanding human evolution, and getting a degree in Anthropology. I now have a pdf copy of the book.