Admin writes:
The evolution side should explain why humans, chimps, gorillas and orangutans are placed within a single group, and the creation side should explain not just why they shouldn't be grouped together, but how they should be regrouped and why.
Since no-one else has done it yet, here's my attempt at laying out the way that human beings are classified in the modern Linnaean system:
Kingdom =
Animalia
quote:
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently. All animals are also heterotrophs, meaning they must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance.
Does this apply to human beings? I believe the answer is yes.
Phylum =
Chordata
quote:
Chordates (phylum Chordata) are animals which are either vertebrates or one of several closely related invertebrates. They are united by having, for at least some period of their life cycle, a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail.
Do human beings have spinal cords? Check.
Class =
Mammals
quote:
Mammals (formally Mammalia /məˈmeɪli.ə/) are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterized by the possession of hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young. Most mammals also possess sweat glands and specialized teeth, and the largest group of mammals, the placentals, have a placenta which feeds the offspring during gestation.
Breath air? I believe so. Backbones? Yes. Hair? Yep, head hair, body hair - got that too. Sweat glands, specialized teeth (not all the same like a crocodile's), ear bones, breasts, placentas? Looks like we qualify as mammals.
Order =
Primates
Well, now we're getting a little more specific. Let's look at the list of features that the primates have in common:
- retention of the collar bone in the pectoral girdle;
- shoulder joints which allow high degrees of movement in all directions;
- five digits on the fore and hind limbs with opposable thumbs and big toes;
- nails on the fingers and toes (in most species);
- a flat nail on the hallux (in all extant species);
- sensitive tactile pads on the ends of the digits;
- orbits encircled in bone;
- a trend towards a reduced snout and flattened face, attributed to a reliance on vision at the expense of olfaction (most notably in haplorrhines, and less so in strepsirrhines);
- a complex visual system with stereoscopic vision, high visual acuity and color vision;
- a brain having a well-developed cerebellum with posterior lobe and a calcarine fissure;
- a large brain in comparison to body size, especially in simians;
- differentiation of an enlarged cerebral cortex;
- reduced number of teeth compared to primitive mammals;
- three kinds of teeth;
- a well-developed cecum;
- two pectoral mammary glands;
- typically one young per pregnancy;
- a pendulous penis and scrotal testes;
- a long gestation and developmental period; and
- a trend towards holding the torso upright leading to bipedalism.
Well, that's a pretty long list. But if you take the time to think about it as you read it, you will have to admit two things:
1. Sounds like all those features apply to us.
2. They also apply to baboons, lemurs, orangutans, and gorillas. You might be able to find some primates that are missing a feature or two from this list, but all in all, if you can find a critter that matches up to what we have here, you'll have to call it a primate.
Family =
Hominids
At last, our final stop on the classification trail. Here's what it takes to be considered a hominid:
- No tail (last time I looked);
- males generally bigger than females;
- hands to do clever things with;
- omnivorous (though we eat a lot more grains and pizza);
- gestation lasts about 8 or nine months;
- usually give birth to a single offspring;
- helpless young that need to be cared for;
- which means a delayed adolescence (much longer for some of us than others); and
- no distinct breeding season (unless you count spring break).
Look at that list carefully, please. It describes us. It describes chimps. It describes gorillas. It describes orangutans. They're apes. We're apes.
Forget genetics. Forget common ancestry. All we're talking about is physical features and behaviors. That's the scientific rational for putting
H. sapiens in the same group as those other guys. If you have a rational for a different classification, please let us know what it is.
Human beings are hominids. Period.
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