Which animal group do humans belong to ?

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Humans belong to the group of mammals called primates, which means first. Humans are considered to be the most evolved creatures on the earth, although there is no top place for any living group in the evolution. The primates are generally divided into two groups, prosimians and anthropoids.

While Prosimians generally include bush babies, lemurs and aye- ayes, Anthropoids are highly intelligent and have large brains that include apes, monkeys and humans. Humans are members of one species Homosapiens. While humans live on ground and walk on two legs, most primates walk on four legs and live on trees.

Who are humans closest relatives ?

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The closest relatives of human beings are the Chimpanzees and are generally found in Africa on grasslands and in the woods. Like the humans even Chimpanzees are observed using tools and so are believed to be the most intelligent of the primates. To help them get food they use rocks and stones. They also use grass blades and sharp sticks to help them poke out termites to eat. Watching each other at work they learn to make tools. They attack strangers by throwing rocks on them and guard their territory.     

Another large primate group close to human beings are the Gorillas, who are found in Central and East Africa. Several females and their young ones live in family groups led by a large adult male called Silver Back. They sleep in nests made of leaves and dry broken branches and mainly stay on the ground.       

Who were the first human beings ?

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The most important living beings on Earth are Humans. About 50,000 years ago the first human beings like us are said to have lived on earth. Human beings developed over million of years and were related to apes and monkeys, in 1859 an English Scientist Charles Darwin suggested. A number of fossil skulls, fossil bones and the other remains of human-like creatures have been found and with these fossils, Darwin was proved right. Scientists believed, our ancestors were small and funny animals about 70 million years ago.

These human like creatures turned into monkeys, chimpanzees and apes very slowly. The Earth began to change and forests disappeared after about 25 million years. As most trees had disappeared these ancestors of man learned to live on the ground. Some of their descendants stayed on the trees and those who adjusted to living on land began walking upright. For carrying things they started using their hands. They became cleverer than other animals as their brain became larger.

How the man's ancestors evolved ?

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Man's ancestors lived on trees who are called as apes. Apes are tailless monkeys who left trees and started living on open grounds. They started walking on two legs, which left their hands to do and carry other things. The ape's hands were specially developed for swinging on trees but now the hands could be used for many things.

The long fingers and thumbs, which are so different from the animal paw, could hold tools and weapons. The most important difference between man and its ancestor apes is intelligence. This intelligence to make fire or to defend itself could be used by no other animal.

What are oceans and seas ?

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Large bodies of water are called oceans. On the earth there are four oceans which are not separate from each other. Arctic is the smallest, whereas Pacific is the largest ocean. Through water currents, water from one-ocean flows into another. Smaller water bodies identified in the oceans are seas. Seas and oceans have other water bodies like bays, straits, gulfs, etc.

What are Tides ?

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Tide is the rise and fall in sea level. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and to a lesser extent of the sun. Every 24 hours and 50 minutes the moon rotates around the earth and thus there are two high and two low tides. When the moon is over head at any place, it exerts a gravitational pull on the water beneath it causing a high tide and because of this tides occur.

The highest spring tides occur when the sun, moon and earth are in a straight line. This is precisely, because the gravitational pull of the sun and moon is combined. When the moon, earth and sun form a right angle to each other, the lowest neap tides occur. And thus, the gravitational pull of the sun and moon are opposed.

What is Weather ?

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Weather refers to the amount of water vapour in the air. It is changeable and varies from place to place. At any particular place and time it is the state of air. Over a short period of time weather of a place are the conditions of the atmosphere. The condition of a particular area is indicated as hot or cold, wet or dry, windy or calm day. But in some places weather remains the same through out the year, in others it changes every day.

Weather normally depends on the moving air, the heat of the sun and on winds. Because the earth is curved, the sun heats the earth at equator. And so the air around the equator is warmer, than the air around poles. Warm air moves towards north and south poles and gets cooler on its way. It forms a circular movement and returns towards the equator. The other air movements between the equator and the poles are due to the rotation of the earth that pushes the winds to the west, over various parts of the world, the heating and cooling of the land causes differences in the air temperature.

What is Climate ?

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The average or typical weather condition of a place over a long period of time is called climate. Since the sun shines almost overhead, the area near the equator has a hot climate. It gets cooler and cooler as we move away from the equator. It is always too cool at poles. Climate is also affected by the ocean currents that carry warmth around the world.