The idea that humans and apes share a common ancestor has been controversial from the start. Not just because it contradicts the Book of Genesis, which describes humans as uniquely created in God’s image, but also because it has been widely accepted despite lacking solid scientific backing.
The chimpanzee is widely regarded as the closest relative to humans, with whom we are thought to share a common ancestor that became extinct four million years ago. Richard Wrangham suggests that this unknown species likely resembled a modern chimpanzee more than a human.1 The problem, however, is that no remains matching this description have been found. Until evidence of this missing link is discovered, the hypothesis cannot be considered a valid argument in the debate.
Chimpanzee and human DNA analysis
A stronger argument from evolutionists is the analysis of human and chimpanzee DNA, which shows a high degree of similarity between the two genomes. The frequently cited yet misleading claim of 99% similarity continues to persist. First proposed in 1975 by Allen Wilson and Mary-Claire King using a technique called reassociation kinetics,2 this idea—often referred to as the ‘1% Myth’—has been cited as possible evidence of a genetic link between humans and chimpanzees.
The degree of similarity between chimpanzee and human DNA according to (…) independent studies is (…) significantly lower than 99%, which contradicts the theory of a common ancestor with apes.
The most frequently cited study claiming a significant similarity between the human and chimpanzee genomes was published in 2005 by the International Consortium for the Analysis and Sequencing of the Chimpanzee Genome. Frost Smith, however, contends that the methodology used at the time was not entirely objective and presented the data in a biased way.3
Dr Jeffrey P. Tomkins shares this view. After reviewing the literature, he concluded that scientists had selectively analysed DNA sequences that closely matched and supported the theory of evolution while disregarding data that did not fit its assumptions. To test this claim, he recalculated the similarity between human and chimpanzee DNA in 2012, using the same studies but including the omitted data. His findings showed a significantly lower similarity, ranging from 66% to 86%. He also argued that researchers had assembled the chimpanzee genome in a way that artificially increased its resemblance to the human genome.4
Biologist Richard Buggs carried out parallel studies and found that the percentage of nucleotides in the human genome with an exact one-to-one match in the chimpanzee genome ranges from 82.34% to 84.38%.5 These independent findings indicate that the similarity between human and chimpanzee DNA is considerably lower than the claimed 99%, casting doubt on the theory of a common ancestor with apes.
Further genetic studies also challenge this theory. A 2011 analysis of 3D genome structure found that a specific type of histone modification in humans and chimpanzees matches by only 70%. In 2012, other studies showed that the same feature in humans and mice also shares about 70% similarity. This means that, in this regard, humans are as similar to chimpanzees as they are to mice, providing further reason to question the hypothesis of kinship with chimpanzees.6
A comparative analysis of the human and chimpanzee Y chromosome
This theory is further questioned by a 2010 analysis of the human and chimpanzee Y chromosome. It has been found that this chromosome plays a more significant role in inheritance studies than previously assumed. By analysing Y chromosome sequences, researchers can trace genealogical relationships and map historical patterns of human migration. Earlier studies have already shown that all men have highly similar Y chromosomes, leading to the conclusion that the entire human population descends from a single male ancestor. However, the chimpanzee Y chromosome differs from the human Y chromosome by 30%. Robert W. Carter emphasises the significance of this discrepancy, stating that such a degree of genetic divergence would typically be observed between human autosomes and those of a chicken, a species that is not classified as a mammal.7
These studies could provide grounds for rejecting the hypothesis of a common history between humans and apes and for re-evaluating the validity of the theory of evolution. This, however, has not happened. The ‘1% Myth’ has become firmly embedded in popular thought and may endure for decades to come.
By the way, we recommend reading the articles:
- The Fate of the Universe – What Awaits Our Cosmos?
- Earth – the Only Planet with Fire
- Durupinar – Has Noah’s Ark Been Found?
- Where Did the Waters of the Flood Go?
- Does the Big Bang Theory Exclude the Existence of God?
Footnotes
- Wrangham, R.W., 2019. Out of the Pan, Into the Fire. In: F.B.M. De Waal, ed., Tree of Origin: What Primate Behavior Can Tell Us About Human Social Evolution, pp. 124–126.
- Bergman, J. and Tomkins, J., Is the human genome nearly identical to chimpanzee?—a reassessment of the literature. Available at: https://creation.com/human-chimp-dna-similarity-literature.
- Smith, F., 2015. A Fresh Look at Human-Chimp DNA Similarity. Available at: https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/fresh-look-human-chimp-dna-similarity/.
The Chimpanzee Sequencing Analysis Consortium, 2005. Initial Sequence of the Chimpanzee Genome and Comparison with the Human Genome. Nature, 437(7055), pp.69–87. doi: 10.1038/nature04072. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature04072. - Tomkins, J., 2018. Separate Studies Converge on Human-Chimp DNA Dissimilarity. Acts & Facts, 47(11). Available at: https://www.icr.org/article/separate-studies-converge-human-chimp-dna.
- Buggs, R., 2018. How similar are human and chimpanzee genomes?. Available at: http://richardbuggs.com/2018/07/14/how-similar-are-human-and-chimpanzee-genomes/.
- Tomkins, J., 2021. 3-D Human Genome Radically Different from Chimp. Available at: https://www.icr.org/article/human-genome-radically-different-from-chimp/.
- Carter, R.W., 2010. The chimpanzee Y chromosome is radically different from human. Available at: https://creation.com/chimp-y-chromosome.
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