twenty million years ago the Indian plate collided with Asia; this generated the Himalayan mountain range, which drastically altered the earth's climate forever after. Basically, "The climate became drier and the forests of what is now Africa and Asia contracted. The result was an increased area of savanna habitat, with fewer trees." (Campbell, 711). This brought about environmental and ecological changes that animals already adapted to one way of life needed to alter in order to survive. It is widely believed that humans and apes diverged from a "common humanoid ancestor only about 5-7 million years ago." (Campbell, 711). It is not difficult to imagine that one of the leading forces that caused the early hominoids to split lineages was the widening of the savanna. Essentially, many groups of animals that had become suited to tree-dwelling needed to adjust to life on the open plains; out of these pressures came...
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