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The Theory of Evolution

The world is a unique place. The sun gives off sunrays that help our bodies produce
vitamins that are needed in order to survive, and plants breathe in carbon dioxide and out oxygen
to renew our air. The ozone layer protects us from the harmful rays that the sun gives off. There
are thousands of different animals around the world, some of whom live deep in the ocean, and
others that soar high in the sky. These animals have something unique: life. Nobody knows
exactly how it came to be, but there are many theories out there. One may believe that a God
created the entire universe, others may believe that many gods created the earth. As much as
religious people argue one God or many gods, science seems to have their own answer:
evolution. Evolution is a complicated idea that is believed to have started to take place millions
of years ago. What makes evolution so unique and compelling is DNA of humans, mutations of
DNA, and the progression of technology over time.
The DNA of humans is compelling evidence for evolution. DNA is what allows humans
to be unique and different than other humans. Over time, our DNA has had mutations that has
allowed us to evolve. But greater than that is our similarities of DNA between us and other plants
and animals. For example, humans and chimpanzees have 90% similarities in their DNA
(Herrero). This is solid evidence for evolution because 90% is close to being the exact same
species. Not only that, but bakers yeast and human DNA have 18% similarities in DNA. Even
though 18% of a similarity is not much, it is pretty compelling that we can be close to something
that cannot even breathe. This shows that it is highly possible that if we have an 18% similarities
in DNA with bakers yeast, then we could easily have evolved from bacteria (Herrero). Another
animals which we have tamed, breed, and even have to help us hunt are dogs. Dogs and humans
have 84% similarities in DNA (Herrero). This goes to show that even the animals we have tamed

have more in common than people give them credit for. The DNA proves who we truly are, and
if we have all these similarities with other animals and plants, it definitely makes a strong point
that evolution is possible.
Also, the mutations of DNA show us how people have evolved. When the first single
celled organism had its first genetic mutation, it was able to differentiate light and darkness. Over
time, more and more of these mutations happened between the genes. Eventually the single
celled organism became multicellular and ended up going out of the water it started in. These
mutations happened in the past in order to make up who we are today. For example, once
evolution was as far as Ardipithecus kadabba, the first found early form of man, the apes tails
had shrunk, allowing us to be able to walk easier (Gibons). The genetic mutations only keep
evolving if it is for the better for the race. Take the polar bear for example. The polar bear was
not originally a species, according to evolution, but a black bear was. The black bear evolved
from another animal. But when the ice age happened, two bears mated and a genetic mutation
happened. One of the bears coat changed from black to white. This allowed that bear to hide and
hunt other animals. Once this white bear was older, it mated and had more white cubs because of
the genes that were matched. This enabled the polar bear species to become a species at all. Of
course, when the ice age ended, the black bears were able to go back to a better habitat that
enabled them to have the same advantages the polar bear had in their environments. These
genetic mutations are what allows us to be able to evolve, but in a progressive manner, rather
than evolving backwards (Pope).
Lastly, technology is something that people are always trying to improve, and our
ancestors knew that. Our ancestors, although may have had smaller brains than us, still were able
to build things that most people today cannot do with natural materials. One of their most

advanced findings was fire. Back then, 1.8 million to 200,000 years ago, fire was used to ward
off predators, and, over time, to cook meals. Homo erectus was the first man to create fire. But
fire was not their only invention. Homo erectus also created hand axes and stone flakes (Cohen).
Our other ancestors were able to improve the world too. Not so much an invention, but still a
progression, they were able to tame wolves. This allowed for them to use them to guard their
houses, and hunt. Over time, they bred the wolves to become better hunters. As time went by,
people started breeding wolves for looks rather than hunting abilities. Now a days, we have the
ancestors of wolves living in our houses. Some even sleep with us. They are called dogs (Pope).
Today, Homo sapiens are still making progressions with phones, weapons, and language. Man
will never stop trying to improve; it is only human nature.
Evolution has caused a huge uproar in religious society. So when most Christians hear
about evolution, they deny it immediately. By learning more about evolution, people can learn to
understand why people that believe in evolution do so. Evolution is only the idea that over
thousands and thousands of years, genetic mutations occurred in order to improve a species,
which scientifically makes a lot of sense. Scientists have even found fossils like Lucy, the first
found Australopithecus, or walking form of ape. The children of Lucy have also been found. The
Homo erectus, one of our ancestors, was able to adapt to warm climates because of its smaller
more open bone structure, while the Homo neanderthalis adapted to more cold weather due to its
more broad bone structure (Smithsonian). These fossils are intermediates, who are our earlier
ancestors, but not the first form of man. Many may call evolution a stretch, but when you look at
the evidence, it may not seem as crazy as monkeys turning into humans.

Works Cited
Cohen, Jennine. "Human Ancestors Tamed Fire Earlier Than Thought."
Http://www.history.com/news/human-ancestors-tamed-fire-earlier-than-thought. History,
2 Apr. 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
Gibons, Ann. "The Human Family's Earliest Ancestors." Smithsonian. Smithsonian, Mar. 2010.
Web.
Herrero, Javier. "The New Age of Exploration." National Geographic Magazine. National
Geographic, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015 04 Oct. 2015.
Pope, Bill, dir. "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odessey." Cosmos: A Spacetime Odessey. Fox. 16 Mar.
2015. Television.
Smithsonian: Museum of Natural History. N.d. Fossils of our ancestors. Washington D.C.