The Origin of Homo Sapiens: Scientific Facts, Philosophical Dilemmas, and Alien Myths

---

INTRODUCTION: THE GREATEST MYSTERY OF MANKIND

“Who are we? Where do we come from?” – questions that permeate religions, philosophy, and science. While 2001: A Space Odyssey depicts a monolith as a catalyst for consciousness, and von Däniken with proponents of ancient astronaut theory claim we were “created by aliens,” modern science offers a different story – slower, more complex, and more fascinating. Yet it too carries uncertainties…

---

FOSSIL RECORD: WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE DON’T

Confirmed Facts:

• “The gap between apes and humans is closed”:
  A series of fossils connects us to a common ancestor with chimpanzees:
  Ardipithecus ramidus (4.4 mya) → Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy, 3.2 mya) → Homo habilis (tools, 2.8 mya) → Homo heidelbergensis (first hunters, 600,000 ya) → Homo sapiens (300,000 ya).
• We weren’t the only “humans”:
  Until 40,000 years ago, we shared the planet with Neanderthals and Denisovans (genetic traces in modern humans: 1-4%).

Unsolved Mysteries:

• Sudden Brain Volume Increase:
  • A leap from 600cm³ to 1200cm³ 2 million years ago without clear “transitional forms”.
  • Why isn’t this enough? Dolphins (1600cm³) and parrots (% of body size) possess intelligence – yet don’t build civilizations.
• Origin of Speech:
  • FOXP2 gene existed in Neanderthals – why did only H. sapiens develop complex grammar?
• Disappearance of Neanderthals:
  • Remains a great mystery with multiple theories:
    • Genocide by H. sapiens
    • Lack of immunity to our viruses
    • Ecological inferiority

“The fossil record is like a puzzle with missing pieces – not evidence for aliens.”
– Dr. Svante Pääbo, Nobel Laureate in Paleogenomics

---

GENETICS AND EPIGENETICS: HOW DO WE DIFFER?

DNA Differences:

• Only 1.2% of DNA separates us from chimpanzees.
• Key Areas:
  • HARs (Human Accelerated Regions): 49 genes for brain development (e.g., HAR1 – cerebral cortex).
  • Synapse Genes: SRGAP2 duplicated in humans – increases neuronal density.

Epigenetic “Software”:

• Stress Gene Methylation:
  More intensely affects the amygdala (emotion center) in humans.
• Inherited Patterns:
  Ancestors’ experiences (famine, trauma) alter gene expression across 3-4 generations.

Key Finding:

Neanderthals had the same “intelligence gene” (ARHGAP11B) – but our epigenetic system used it more intensively.

---

CONSCIOUSNESS: THE SCIENTIFIC BOUNDARY BETWEEN BRAIN AND “SOUL”

What We Know:

• Consciousness Isn’t Uniquely Human:
  • Elephants (mirror recognition), crows (wooden tools), dolphins (complex communication).
• Neural Correlate of Consciousness:
  • Information integration in the thalamus-cortex network (Integrated Information Theory).

Open Questions:

• Quantum Consciousness?:
  • Penrose-Hameroff hypothesis (microtubules) lacks solid evidence.
• “Hard Problem” of Consciousness:
  • Why does neural activity create subjective experience?
  • But science cannot prove the non-existence of the soul: a subtle energetic structure preserving experiences after death – a concept present in religions and works of:
    • Ian Stevenson (reincarnation research)
    • Michael Newton (soul “matrices” between lives)

---

ALIEN MYTHS: WHY DO THEY ARISE?

Pseudoscientific theories fill three scientific gaps:

1. Lack of fossils for key transitions.
2. Explosive brain development without clear selective advantage.
3. Universality of creation myths.

Scientific Explanation:

• Cognitive Need: The human mind seeks a causal agent for complex phenomena (e.g., a “creator”).
• Existential Therapy: Myths alleviate anxiety through “higher meaning”.

“When Prometheus seeks ‘Engineers,’ it metaphorically depicts our quest for creators – while the answer lies in nature’s evolutionary creativity.”

---

WHERE IS THE BOUNDARY? WHAT MAKES US “HUMAN”?

Aspect	Animals	Humans
Tools	Simple (stick, stone)	Complex (AI, Hadron Collider)
Communication	Signaling (danger)	Abstract symbols (language, art)
Time Perception	Present	Past/future (planning)
Morality	Limited empathy	Universal ethical systems
Organized Violence	Territorial conflicts	Wars, genocides, systematic cannibalism

Decisive Difference:
Collective Learning – the ability to accumulate knowledge across generations (cumulative culture).

---

CONCLUSION: HUMANS – PRODUCT OF EVOLUTION OR COSMIC EXPERIMENT?

Much scientific evidence supports natural evolution:

1. Genes connect us to all life.
2. The fossil sequence (though fragmented) shows continuity.
3. Consciousness is a product of the brain.

But three mysteries remain:
➜ Why did only Homo sapiens develop high culture?
➜ Does a “quantum level” of consciousness exist?
➜ What makes us existentially alone in the universe?

“We may be an ‘evolutionary misunderstanding’ – a species that gained consciousness before it was ready for it.”
– Inspired by Heinlein’s “Stranger in a Strange Land”

---

CALL TO ACTION

“What do you think? Are we just evolved apes or bearers of something eternal? Can the scientific story of our origin explain human spirituality? Share your vision!”