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General Science / Re: Where did humans come from?
« on: 05/06/2013 22:02:27 »This is not a science based comment. But any time I've gone to the zoo and stood face to face with a gorilla, orangutang or chimpanzee, there is such a striking sense of familiarity. Their mannerisms, their gaze, facial expressions, their hands and fingernails seem so similar to us. I feel it even more in person than watching a video. I mention it not as proof of anything, but it always made me wonder what people thought of other primates before Darwin's theory became widely known. How did they explain their human-like qualities 200 years ago?
I fully agree with you Cheryl. I have much the same feelings when visiting the zoo. What did people make of it 200 years ago? I think that one fairly common reaction in the European tradition was to regard these creatures as creations of the devil, whose major purpose was to mock humans. This was totally inconsistent with the rest of their belief system, laughably inconsistent. But it allowed the immediate problem to be put aside.
Outside the European tradition, it should be mentioned that "orang utan" comes from a Dyak (Borneo native) word meaning "old man of the forest". Orang utans were regarded as fully human, but obviously different, and very reclusive. A variety of superstitions about orang utans emerged.