In spite of creationist claims to the contrary, evolution really does tell us about the origin of species. But to answer the Question, it is first necessary to debunk some urban myths about evolution. No scientist claims that humans are descended from monkeys. But from the evidence of hundreds of fossils, they have been able to piece together a very detailed, but not yet complete, account of the evolution of man since the earliest hominids roamed Africa seven million years ago.

The almost complete skeleton of 'Lucy' is a four million year old example of the AustraIopithecus afarensis species, definitely not a modern human, but intermediate between humans and our pre-hominid ancestors. Whether AustraIopithecus afarensis is one of our direct ancestors or a branch that left no modern descendants, it is certainly evidence of the evolution of man.

To date, the identified remains of Neanderthal man represent something less than 500 individuals, and they are quite recognisably different to modern humans. Moreover, scientists have begun to map the DNA of the Neanderthals, a project that will put to rest, once and for all, the myth that Neanderthals are somehow just a little different to us.

Now some examples of early transitional species:

Tiktaalik roseae is the name of a newly discovered lobe-finned fossil fish from the late Devonian period, that is a transitional form to amphibians. It had basic wrist bones and simple fingers, as well as the robust ribcage necessitated by existence out of water. There would be no conceivable explanation for Tiktaalik other than evolution.

Another example of a clearly transitional species is the 380 million-year-old fossil of a primitive fish, Gogonasus. It had fins strong enough to support its weight in shallow water and propel itself along. A scan of the fossil, using a three-dimensional X-ray microscope, revealed its skeleton had several features that were more like those of a four-legged land animal, or tetrapod, than a fish. They included the structure of its middle ear and the existence of precursors of the forearm bones in its fins: the radius and ulna. Here was a fish that had already evolved to a point where it had much in common with later land animals.
A recently discovered 220-million year old fossil, Odontochelys semitestacea, is further evidence of evolution. This new species of turtle had a fully formed shell on its underside, but only a small partial shell on its back, extending from its backbone. Scientists had long debated how the turtle shell evolved. As well as a partial shell, Odontochelys semitestaceaalso had ribs that had begun to widen, thus demonstrating that the fully developed shell of later turtles evolved from the ribs of earlier species. Odontochelys semitestacea is one more piece in the jigsaw that shows conclusively how life on Earth evolved from earlier species.

For more information on evolution and the alternatives put up by some creationists, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

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