How similar are humans and monkeys?

Published February 24, 2023

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Discover Magazine featured Stephanie Poindexter in an article about how similar are monkeys and humans. People descended from a common ancestor of humans, shared with what became chimpanzees and bonobos between 6 and 8 million years ago. Though humans evolved since then, people are still 98.8% the same as chimpanzees and bonobos. Tool use is one of the most obvious indications. Poindexter said, “We used to think that being able to manipulate the environment was uniquely human, and now we know that chimpanzees use all sorts of tools.”  

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