GabyIn the scientific community, discussions about when placental mammals, which include humans, dogs, and bats, first appeared have been ongoing for a long time. Recent analysis of fossils has led to a stunning discovery.
It can currently be stated that human ancestors existed during the time of the dinosaurs. The coexistence of prehistoric giants and humans was quite short-lived, but, as scientists note, it did occur in history.
Dinosaurs went extinct, while the ancestors of humans evolved.
Some scientists have long held the view that placental mammals existed during the time of the dinosaurs, before the asteroid impact on Earth caused catastrophic destruction. At that time, nearly 75% of life on the planet was wiped out.
According to researchers, after this catastrophe, dinosaurs went extinct, while the ancestors of humans, on the contrary, survived and evolved. Now, a group of paleontologists who support this version has scientific confirmation. An in-depth analysis of fossils finally provides an answer: our ancestors coexisted with dinosaurs for a short period before the prehistoric reptiles went extinct.
As noted by the publication Daily Mail Until now, fossils of placental mammals had only been found in rocks less than 66 million years old. Because of this, scientists believed that this group of living beings evolved after the mass extinction caused by the asteroid impact on Earth.
In the Earth’s crust around the world, there is a characteristic layer of sediment rich in iridium – a rare metal on Earth, but more common in asteroids and comets. This serves as the main evidence for the asteroid impact hypothesis that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Fossil remains also indicate a sharp decline in biodiversity following this layer.
Due to this disaster, everyone disappeared. dinosaurs except for birds and other smaller animals (lizards, frogs). However, molecular data have long indicated an older age for placental mammals, which include the ancestors of humans.
A team of paleobiologists used statistical analysis of fossils to determine whether human ancestors could have existed before the mass extinction. The study showed that primates, which include humans, as well as rabbits, dogs, and cats, evolved directly before this catastrophe. In other words, according to the scientists, human ancestors existed during the Cretaceous period and coexisted for some time with non-flying dinosaurs.
Scientists believe that placental mammals were able to survive the asteroid impact. According to researchers, it is possible that the mass extinction of dinosaurs, which led to a loss of competition from them, allowed the ancestors of humans to develop and evolve relatively quickly.
According to lead researcher Emily Carlisle, her team collected thousands of fossils of placental mammals. In their study, they observed patterns of emergence and extinction among different groups.
Small human ancestors were able to survive.
As Ms. Carlisle claims, based on this, it is possible to estimate when the ancestors of humans emerged, but it is unknown what they actually looked like. The researcher notes that the first placental mammals were quite small creatures.
For example, one of the early primate ancestors was similar in size to a modern mole. Therefore, it is likely that many human ancestors that existed during the time of the dinosaurs were small creatures.
The recovery of life after the asteroid impact on Earth took millions of years. Those creatures that survived the catastrophe laid the foundation for modern global biodiversity.
It was precisely because the ancestors of placental mammals (and humans in particular) were very small that they were able to find refuge. Moreover, they did not need much food to survive in the harsh conditions following the catastrophe on Earth. All of this allowed the ancestors of humans to survive and evolve after the extinction of the massive dinosaurs.
So, if it weren’t for the asteroid’s impact on Earth, who knows if the world would be as it is today, or if there would even be humans in it at all. The extinction of the dinosaurs paved the way for the evolution of primitive mammals, including the ancestors of humans.
