You are on page 1of 4

1

Evolution
The theory of evolution has been the subject of debate for many years.
Since this is a subjective belief, it is likely that this debate will be go on till
infinity and even beyond. This essay will present many undisputable and
compelling evidence in support of the theory of evolution. Our goal is to
learn more about evolution be open minded and to compare it with my
own beliefs. This leaves us with the question, what is evolution?
In order to completely understand the theory of evolution and
compelling evidence in support of it, it is imperative to first define
evolution and evidence. Evolution is not only a body of facts, but evidence
that things adapt and change form from one thing to another. Evidence is
something that gives proof to an idea and makes it more clear to
understand.
There are many arguments on whether evolution is true or not, but
scientist, over the last centuries have worked hard to provide proof and
put forth their claim as true. Dating back to around half way through the
19th century, Charles Darwin, a well known English naturalist proposed the
theory of evolution by natural selection. This now formulated the belief
that were talked about and explained in his book On the origin of
species created in the year , 1859.
In this book he summarizes natural selection saying that animals
naturally evolve from one form to another based on changes in DNA and
genes that will naturally help it survive, adapt to an environment and

2
have more offspring to produce more of its kind. Slight mutations of a new
offspring will lead to minor or major changes in DNA which can have
affects like changes of behavior or even color. Lets say that long ago all
polar bears were brown. Most polar bears were dying off because of
starvation and they found it hard to hunt for food. There was one odd
occurrence of a mutation that made an offspring to be white. You may
think that this was bad because he was oddly different from the rest of
the bears, but really he had an advantage. Most people wouldnt even
think about the fact that he is camouflage with the snow, which make its
easier for him to hunt and survive, therefore creating more offspring of its
kind.
Darwin also discovered that animals can evolve from Artificial
selection. Artificial selection is the deliberate breeding of one specific
animal to create a larger population of progeny. If I breed a specific type
of wolf, with the special mutations and characteristics that I prefer, it will
begin to have broods just like it. Then I will pick a wolf according to my
preferences out of the new pack and so on. Now we have hundreds of
breeds of wolves. They are so far off from the original wolf that it has
evolved from wolf to so many different breeds of dog.
Scientist claim that humans have origins to dogs, monkeys, apes,
frogs, chickens, fish, rabbits, squirrels etc. They say that natural selection
extends all the way to human beings. The almost indistinguishable DNA
between chimps and humans nearly proves that we have a common

3
ancestor. The monkey, Australopithecus africanus, from 2.1 to 2.7 million
years ago doesnt look look like a human because it had not yet gone
through evolution. As you get closer into modern day with Homo Erectus,
from 70, 000 to 1.89 million years ago, from observations that you can see,
the monkey he is looking more and more like man. It is Evolving and going
through the chain of evolution. Homo Erectus has more human DNA than
Australopithecus africanus. These scientists have substantiated that the
farther back we go in history the less similar our DNA is in comparison to
other animals. Both fossils and DNA confirm that humans are primates and
in the linage of the ape family, says the Smithsonian museum.
As these beings move through history, they evolve through
adaptabilities. These beings evolve and also adapt to new conditions. They
adapt to flexibility, climate and so many other environmental challenges. For
example they shifted from walking on four legs to walking upright on two
legs, about 6 million years ago. They became more flexible. They also
adapted to climates. For example, on longer time scales, hominis
experienced larger scale shifts in temperature and precipitation, which
caused great changes in vegetation.
Some people may still question, how do you know you are right? There
are many fossils and findings that scientists have to support evolution. For
instance, there have been recent findings in South Africa that prove this
point. archeologists dug deep in the ground until they came across a figure
that looked like a human but yet also an ape. After they dug it up and gave it

4
to scientists to critically examine, they discovered that it was neither ape nor
human but an evolved ape. They said this because of its physical
appearance. The body of the figure is too different from an ape or human to
be so. There are hundreds upon thousands of other fossil findings that help
to prove the theory of evolution, this is only one.
I stated in in my opening theme that evolution has been the subject of
debate for many years. With both sides presenting a fairly compelling
argument. I have spent a great deal of time outlining several ideas in
support of the theory of evolution. These ideas include Natural selection,
artificial selection, and adaptabilities. It is my hope that I have presented
compelling ideas which make the theory of evolution an undisputable fact.

You might also like