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We know a lot about our hominin ancestors, however we know comparatively little about the panins - or the ancestors of chimpanzee and bonobos.
AnSionnachRua · 4572 days ago · link ·
One rather simple explanation is that panin environments are conducive neither to the deposition of fossils nor to their excavation, whereas early hominid habitats are.
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JakobVirgil · 4571 days ago · link ·
Or social. You don't get as much acclaim for a panin find.
so you don't look in the forest.
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JakobVirgil · 4571 days ago · link ·
the problem is that Pan and Homo are covered by the same field Primatology.
It is also not as pleasant to dig in the jungle.
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Also, I wonder if the relatively low abundance of panins makes them difficult to discover. Let's not forget that gorillas--living, breathing giant animals, not fossils--were only discovered in the mid19th c. And the modern Bonobo only exists in remote areas of the Congo, if I'm not mistaken. Could it be possible that our common ancestor was equally isolated, and it wasn't until hominids could exit the jungle on foot that they became wide spread?
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thenewgreen · 4571 days ago · link ·
Great points. I think the general public has the perception that our "common ancestors" were great in numbers. Not sure why though?
JakobVirgil · 4571 days ago · link ·
The forest ape our common with gorilla has also not been found for most likely the same reasons. High acid forest soil.