Theory of Evolution
Charles Darwin was a British Scientist who lived from 1809 to 1882. He laid down the foundation of modern evolutionary theory with his concept of the development of life through the slow working process of natural selection.
Darwin started to make notes about this theory in 1836 and in 1838 he had arrived at a sketch of a theory of evolution through natural selection. It was not until 1858 that his theory was first published in a paper. Darwin’s theory states that as plants or animals spread to new areas, or as the conditions change different variations would be favored in different places. This would mean these variations would spread through the populations of the plants or animals. Over time this would finally lead to a development of new species. This theory was explained in the book ‘The Origin of Species’, which describes his studies on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. He noticed that the species on the islands varied slightly from each island and were adapted to local conditions. The reaction to this theory was immediate. Biologists argued that Darwin could not prove his hypothesis. Others criticized his ideas of variation and how he could not prove how these variations came about or how they were passed on. This part of his theory was not answered until the birth of modern genetics in the early 20th century. In fact many scientists had doubts about this theory for 50-80 years. The most publicized attacks came from religious opponents who believed it was impossible for humans to be on the same level as animals.
But was this truly the case? Did Charles Darwin really make some stunning new discovery of human origins, as is popularly taught, or is it possible that the concept of the evolution of species was nothing new at all when he wrote his book? In fact, could the idea of evolution have been something that had been discussed