The study of human evolution is complicated. It involves many. disciplines including Anthropology, Primatology, Archaeology, Linguistics, Embryology, and Genetics. Discovery of human fossils, stone tools, and cave paintings serve as evidence for the study of evolution. Most of such fossils discovered are of extinct species.

They provide a link to the extant species. The fossils which provide evidence to the evolution of man are usually secured by chance. The process of recovery of the Fossils is a very painstaking and laborious task. Fossils are dated directly through chemical analysis or the sediments in which the fossils were buried are chemically analyzed for dating.

Many unanswered questions are being understood with the unearthing of new data and the development of science. The theory of Natural Selection proposed by Darwin, in his famous book, ‘The Origin of Species’ has greatly helped in the construction of the story of evolution.

His theory ‘Survival of fittest’ can be seen as evidence to the evolution and extinction of different species. The reconstruction of human history becomes very difficult as the source or evidence are very ancient, most of the times running into thousands of years.

The ancestral species of all the present Humans, Chimpanzees and Bonobos, Gorillas, Orang¬utans and Gibbons belong to the super family, Hominoidea. They are classified as Primates. They branched out of the Mammals about 36 million years ago. All the species belonging to the Hominoidea Super family are called Hominoids.

1. The Super family Hominoidea branched into Hominidae and Hylobatidae families. The species of the respective families are called Hominids and Hylobatids. The Hominids that is, Humans, Chimpanzees and Bonobos, Gorillas and Orang-utans, diverged away from the Hylobatids that is Gibbons.

2. The Hominidae family branched into Homininae and Ponginae subfamilies. The species of the respective subfamilies were called Hominines and Pongines. The Hominines that is, Humans, Chimpanzees and Bonobos and Gorillas diverged away from the Pongines that is the Orang-utans. 

3. The Homininae subfamily branched into Hominini and Gorillini tribes. Humans, Chimpanzees, and bonobos branched away from the Gorillas.

4. The Hominini tribe branched into Genus Homo and Genus Pan. That is, the ancestral human species branched away from the Chimpanzees and the Bonobos. As such, Chimpanzees and Bonobos are the closest relatives of the Humans. The evolution of genus Homo from the super family Hominoidea took about 30 million years. The emergence of genus Homo brought human-like creatures on the earth’s surface about 5.6 million years ago.