A hypothetical or theoretical creature that is part ape and part human, or a prehistoric human ancestor believed to have ape-like characteristics.
From 'ape' + 'man', a compound word. Used especially in 19th and early 20th-century anthropology and popular science to describe missing-link concepts between apes and modern humans.
The term 'apeman' captured Victorian public imagination during the evolution debates—it represented the scary-sounding idea that humans descended from apes, even though modern science shows we didn't descend from modern apes but from a common ancestor.
The term 'apeman' assumes maleness as default for humanoid ancestors, reflecting 20th-century paleoanthropology's male-centric bias. This presupposes all ape-human transitional forms were male or renders female contributors invisible.
Use 'ape-human ancestor' or 'early hominin' to remain neutral about sex. If discussing a specific specimen, use the actual identity (e.g., 'Lucy' for Australopithecus afarensis AL 288-1).
["ape-human ancestor","early hominin","protohuman"]
Women paleontologists (Dian Fossey, Leakey family members) made foundational discoveries in primate and human evolution; their work revealed neither apes nor early humans were monolithically male.
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