Evidence of evolution

Vestigial structures provide evidence for evolution because it can be assumed that they had a purpose at some point in the past.

Evidence of evolution. By Martin Samaj. Evolution. the word evolution has several meanings all of which involve gradual development of things definition: Evolution is the cumulative change in the heritable characteristics of a population

The story of human origins is complicated since our ancestors swapped genes (and probably skills).

In the 150 years since Charles Darwin speculated that humans originated in Africa, the number of species in the human family tree has exploded, but so has the level of dispute concerning early human evolution. Fossil apes are often at the center of the debate, with some scientists dismissing their importance to the origins of the human lineage (the "hominins"), and others conferring them starring evolutionary roles. A new review out on May 7 in the journal Science looks at the major…

View the interactive image by Leslie Lopez

Discover the evidence of evolution with this worksheet. Explore fossil records, comparative anatomy, genetics to understand how species have evolved over time.

Fossils are the preserved remains or impressions of ancient organisms. Scientists can use them to learn about the evolutionary history of species.

About 10,000 years ago, the climate began to warm up, resulting in the extinction of many of the large animals (megafauna) of the Quaternary Period. Only a few smaller representatives of the megafauna remain, such as African elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses. Scientists are skeptical as to whether the warming climate is to blame for the extinction at the end of the last ice age or the fact that modern humans were beginning to rapidly spread around the globe and hunt these…

The evidence for evolution is found at all levels of organization in living things and in the extinct species we know about through fossils. Fossils provide evidence for the evolutionary change through now extinct forms that led to modern species. For example, there is a rich fossil record that shows the evolutionary transitions from horse ancestors to modern horses that document intermediate forms and a gradual adaptation t changing ecosystems.