The photograph is a partial face of Sivapithecus,
an 8 million year old ape related to the orangutan, found in Petwar Plateau
of Pakistan.
According to current theories of anthropology, man's evolution began about 65 million years ago. Until 35 million years ago different primate groups were evolving until one gave rise to the primitive stock from which the apes (Pongids) and humans (Hominids) evolved. Several fossils from the 14 million yrs to 18 million yrs period suggest that the split between lesser apes (gibbons) and larger hominids (chimpanzee, gorilla, human, orangutan) occurred during this time.
By 12 million yrs ago large hominoids had spread out of
Africa. The later Miocene from 12 million yrs to 7 million yrs ago, has
produced many new hominoid fossils of at least four different forms, the
Rudapithecus, Ouranopithecus, Kenyapithecus, and the hominoids
from China Ramapithecus and Sivapithecus representing one
species which is different overall from all others. Once used to cover
a wide range of material, the names Sivapithecus and Ramapithecus
are now best restricted to specimens only from Turkey, Pakistan, India
and Nepal dating between 12 million yrs and 7 million yrs.
Sivapithecus differ from all other Miocene hominids
and closely resembles Pongo the living Asian orangutan. Sivapithecus
including Ramapithecus indeed share a number of features with Australopithecus.
The study of limb bones show that Sivapithecus was apelike overall, long armed and climbing, hanging and swinging using the arms with the body frequently vertical. Legs were probably also long, and used in vertical climbing and bipedal walking. Feet were capable of powerful grasping. At home in the trees and no doubt occasionally on the ground. According to many anthropologists, Sivapithecus although not the common ancestor of all the large hominoids, was probably not too different from that ancestor