“The theory of evolution states that humans evolved directly from monkeys.”

The idea that humans evolved directly from modern monkeys is a widespread misconception. The truth is, humans did not descend from any species of monkey alive today. Instead, humans and modern apes, including monkeys, share a common ancestor that lived millions of years ago. This ancestor was neither a monkey nor a human, but a primate (Review) from which both lineages diverged, evolving along separate paths over vast stretches of time.

Scientific evidence, including fossil records and genetic analysis, clearly shows a branching evolutionary tree, not a ladder. Humans are more closely related to great apes like chimpanzees and bonobos, sharing a more recent common ancestor with them approximately 6 to 8 million years ago. This common ancestor then gave rise to distinct lineages, one leading to modern humans and our extinct hominin relatives, and the other to modern chimpanzees and bonobos. All apes and monkeys share an even more distant common relative, which lived about 25 million years ago.

This enduring myth likely stems from simplified visual representations of evolution, often depicting a linear progression from a stooped ape to an upright human. Such imagery incorrectly suggests that one species directly "turns into" another. Additionally, a misunderstanding of the term "common ancestor" can lead people to believe that if we share an ancestor with monkeys, we must have evolved from them. In reality, modern humans, modern apes, and modern monkeys are all distinct branches on the same expansive evolutionary tree, all having evolved from different common ancestors at various points in time (Review).