Ape Man: The Story of Human Evolution

As the human brain evolved, early man gained an incredible evolutionary advantage-- the power of language. It brought humans closer together and led to a higher form of creativity. Cave paintings, sculpture, and decorative tools sprung from man's hand. Today, the human mind still drives the species-- but is that enough to guarantee survival on the evolutionary tree?

Once humans learned to walk upright, they began to take giant developmental strides away from their animal relatives. They invented tools, which provided the edge in the search for food. The awesome power of fire came next, then the evolutionary grand prize-- the human brain.

Compared to other species, human beings have been on earth for a very short time. For millions of years, dinosaurs dominated. Then came an evolutionary upheaval-- the continents shifted, the climate changed, and the ape emerged. In Africa, our primal ancestors began to make huge biological leaps forward. But what mysterious phenomenon allowed humans to branch off from the ape?