But humans are not descended from monkeys or any other primate living today. We do share a common ape ancestor with chimpanzees. It lived between 8 and 6 million years ago.

What species did humans evolve from?

KEY FACTModern humans originated in Africa within the past 200,000 years and evolved from their most likely recent common ancestor, Homo erectus. Modern humans (Homo sapiens), the species^? that we are, means 'wise man' in Latin.

Did humans evolve from apes?

Humans diverged from apes (chimpanzees, specifically) toward the end of the Miocene ~9.3 million to 6.5 million years ago. Understanding the origins of the human lineage (hominins) requires reconstructing the morphology, behavior, and environment of the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor.