Question

State whether true or false:
Ramapithecus was, earlier, believed to be the first real ancestor of modern humans.

• A. True
• B. False

Answer 1

The correct option is A True

Ramapithecus lived around 12-14 million years ago. Scientists found the fossils of these in parts of northern india (Punjab) and eastern africa. The first fossils just included a few teeth and fragments of the upper jaw. They were much like those of humans and so, Ramapithecus was for a long time, believed to be the first real ancestors of modern humans. Scientists also supposedly found other evidences for human-like traits. However, the discovery of a full jawbone of these primates around the year 1977, revealed that these jaws were pretty much ape-like and not very similar to that of the modern man’s. Latest studies have thus, indicated that Ramapithecus cannot be considered as a direct ancestor to modern humans and that they could possibly be ancestors of orangutans.