Orangutans Our Nearest Kin?

All the world loves a heretic, it seems. This clear piece by David Templeton, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, outlines local boy Jeffrey Schwartz's continuing insistence that orangutans are more closely related to us than chimps. His argument is not based at all on genome comparisons, and particularly those calculations, based on genome divergence, that construct family trees of related species by drawing in divergence points from common ancestors (the forks in the tree). He relies on a host of morphological comparisons of which 28 are shared between human and orangutan versus 2 with chimps and 11 with gorillas. These include enamel molars, similar hairlines and shoulder blades and aspects of skull structure. His theory continues to draw scorn from over 99% of the evolutionary anthropology community and Todd Disotell, of the New York University Center for the Study of Human Origins, is preparing a point-by-point rebuttal of Schwartz's argument. Watch this space!