Expert: Dana Krempels, Ph.D. - 11/19/2011

Question
As per Darwin human is  developed from monkey so then why all monkeys are not developed as a  human?
we have more then 6000 years of history still monkey is monkey and dog is dog we have not seen any development in their then how it is possible to believe  human is developed by monkey.
as per me in past 6000 yrs at least monkey to learn to brush the teeth as a development and it is not happened so we r really  developed from monkey or not

Answer
Dear Shridhar,

It is a common misconception that Darwin said humans evolved from monkeys.  This is not what he said, nor is it correct.  Rather, humans and monkeys *share a common ancestor* that was neither monkey nor human, but had some characteristics common to both.

An excellent tutorial on evolution can be found here:

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIntro.shtml

Be sure to click the "next topic" button on each page, and you will get a really good, clear explanation of what Darwin actually said, as well as our modern (and ever-changing) understanding of how evolution works.  It's fun and interesting, and I hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely,

Dana