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78-651: Primates are the most proliferative throwers in the animal kingdom, and they typically throw feces as a form of agonistic behavior . Of all primates, humans are by far the most capable throwers, and throw a large variety of projectiles with a much greater complexity, efficacy and accuracy. Throughout human evolution , humans (especially Homo sapiens ) have used hand-thrown projectiles for hunting and in warfare — first through rock-throwing , then refined weapon-throwing (e.g. spear , axe or dart ), and into modern day with payload-carrying devices such as hand grenades , flashbangs and tear gas canisters. To overcome

156-407: A ballistic motion in the arm that propels a projectile forward. It is used almost exclusively in athletic events. The throwing motion can be broken down into three basic steps: cocking, accelerating, and releasing. Desired qualities in the action produce a fast, accurate throw. These qualities are affected by the physical attributes of the thrower like height, strength, and flexibility . However it

234-461: A fixed-wing aircraft . The earliest known ballistic projectiles were stones and spears, and the throwing stick . The oldest evidence of stone-tipped projectiles, which may or may not have been propelled by a bow (c.f. atlatl ), dating to c. 280,000 years ago, were found in Ethiopia, present day-East-Africa. The oldest evidence of the use of bows to shoot arrows dates to about 10,000 years ago; it

312-423: A gun barrel or a propelling nozzle , normal force by rifling , and gravity and air drag during flight. A ballistic missile is a missile that is guided only during the relatively brief initial phase of powered flight and the trajectory is subsequently governed by the laws of classical mechanics ; in contrast to (for example) a cruise missile which is aerodynamically guided in powered flight like

390-505: A characteristic type of keratin fingernail on the end of each finger and toe. The bottom sides of the hands and feet have sensitive pads on the fingertips . Most have opposable thumbs , a characteristic primate feature most developed in humans , though not limited to this order ( opossums and koalas , for example, also have them). Thumbs allow some species to use tools . In primates, the combination of opposing thumbs, short fingernails (rather than claws) and long, inward-closing fingers

468-418: A court or other part of a legal system. Separately from ballistics information, firearm and tool mark examinations (" ballistic fingerprinting ") involve analyzing firearm, ammunition, and tool mark evidence in order to establish whether a certain firearm or tool was used in the commission of a crime. Astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning

546-573: A form of exercise . Throwing is thus still performed in many sports and games , particularly ball games , and in throwing sports (especially track and field ) the action is the main determiner of the outcome. Throwing dates back 2 million years to Homo erectus . Development of the offensive throwing of projectiles is mostly a development of the human lineage , although the aimed throwing of sticks and rocks by male chimpanzees during agonistic displays has been observed, first described by Jane Goodall in 1964. "Accumulative throwing", that is,

624-518: A founding lemur population of a few individuals is thought to have reached Madagascar from Africa via a single rafting event between 50 and 80 mya. Other colonization options have been suggested, such as multiple colonizations from Africa and India, but none are supported by the genetic and molecular evidence. Until recently, the aye-aye has been difficult to place within Strepsirrhini. Theories had been proposed that its family, Daubentoniidae,

702-540: A four-one family distribution instead of five-two as presented here. During the Eocene , most of the northern continents were dominated by two groups, the adapiforms and the omomyids . The former are considered members of Strepsirrhini, but did not have a toothcomb like modern lemurs; recent analysis has demonstrated that Darwinius masillae fits into this grouping. The latter was closely related to tarsiers, monkeys, and apes. How these two groups relate to extant primates

780-602: A great distance without the aid of explosive devices – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines . The catapult has been used since ancient times, because it was proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during warfare. The word "catapult" comes from the Latin catapulta , which in turn comes from the Greek καταπέλτης ( katapeltēs ), itself from κατά ( kata ), "against” and πάλλω ( pallō ), "to toss, to hurl". Catapults were invented by

858-414: A non-agonistic way, when the target is a cooperating agent who will perform a somewhat opposite action called catch . Humans are most likely the only animals capable of throwing with such an intent. This is an almost exclusively intraspecific behavior, whose goal is to exchange artifacts without having to shorten the distance between the participants. The seemingly unique exception to this intraspecificity

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936-485: A noun use of Latin primat- , from primus ('prime, first rank'). The name was given by Carl Linnaeus because he thought this the "highest" order of animals. The relationships among the different groups of primates were not clearly understood until relatively recently, so the commonly used terms are somewhat confused. For example, ape has been used either as an alternative for monkey or for any tailless, relatively human-like primate. Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark

1014-434: A sub-field of ballistics, is the study of the propulsion of a projectile . In guns , internal ballistics covers the time from the propellant 's ignition until the projectile exits the gun barrel . The study of internal ballistics is important to designers and users of firearms of all types, from small-bore rifles and pistols , to high-tech artillery . For rocket propelled projectiles, internal ballistics covers

1092-410: Is a relict of the ancestral practice of gripping branches, and has, in part, allowed some species to develop brachiation (swinging by the arms from tree limb to tree limb) as a significant means of locomotion. Prosimians have clawlike nails on the second toe of each foot, called toilet-claws , which they use for grooming. Ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with

1170-404: Is about 20 mph. This ability reflects the ability of the human shoulder muscles and tendons to store elasticity until it is needed to propel an object. A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt projectile such as a stone, clay or lead " sling-bullet ". A sling has a small cradle or pouch in the middle of two lengths of cord. The sling stone is placed in

1248-400: Is an order of mammals , which is further divided into the strepsirrhines , which include lemurs , galagos , and lorisids ; and the haplorhines , which include tarsiers and simians ( monkeys and apes ). Primates arose 85–55 million years ago first from small terrestrial mammals, which adapted for life in tropical forests : many primate characteristics represent adaptations to

1326-754: Is based on pinewood arrows found in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg . They had shallow grooves on the base, indicating that they were shot from a bow. The oldest bow so far recovered is about 8,000 years old, found in the Holmegård swamp in Denmark. Archery seems to have arrived in the Americas with the Arctic small tool tradition , about 4,500 years ago. The first devices identified as guns appeared in China around 1000 AD, and by

1404-577: Is composed of two sister clades. Prosimian tarsiers in the family Tarsiidae (monotypic in its own infraorder Tarsiiformes), represent the most basal division, originating about 58 mya. The earliest known haplorhine skeleton, that of 55 MA old tarsier-like Archicebus , was found in central China, supporting an already suspected Asian origin for the group. The infraorder Simiiformes (simian primates, consisting of monkeys and apes) emerged about 40 mya, possibly also in Asia; if so, they dispersed across

1482-408: Is mainly the throwing motion mechanics and the thrower's ability to coordinate them that determines the quality of the throw. Determining the desired qualities of the throwing motion is difficult to assess due to the extremely short amount of time that it takes professionals to perform the motion. Throwing mechanisms, along with projectiles themselves, rank amongst the oldest technological artefacts in

1560-430: Is rare among non-primates but, provided the definition is relaxed to entail for instance spitting , several examples can be found amongst various taxa, such as camelids , cobras or the archerfish . Elephants have been observed throwing rocks and logs, using their trunk to grab and flick items, although they lack the accuracy that primates can achieve, and it is more commonly used as a warning to aggressors. If one

1638-402: Is the launching of a projectile by hand. Although some other animals can throw, humans are unusually good throwers due to their high dexterity and good timing capabilities, and it is believed that this is an evolved trait. Evidence of human throwing dates back 2 million years. The 90 mph throwing speed found in many athletes far exceeds the speed at which chimpanzees can throw things, which

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1716-441: Is the study of the behavior and effects of a projectile when it hits its target. Terminal ballistics is relevant both for small caliber projectiles as well as for large caliber projectiles (fired from artillery ). The study of extremely high velocity impacts is still very new and is as yet mostly applied to spacecraft design. Forensic ballistics involves analysis of bullets and bullet impacts to determine information of use to

1794-470: Is unclear. Omomyids perished about 30 mya, while adapiforms survived until about 10 mya. According to genetic studies, the lemurs of Madagascar diverged from the lorisoids approximately 75 mya. These studies, as well as chromosomal and molecular evidence, also show that lemurs are more closely related to each other than to other strepsirrhine primates. However, Madagascar split from Africa 160 mya and from India 90 mya. To account for these facts,

1872-946: Is used. New primate species continue to be discovered: over 25 species were described in the 2000s, 36 in the 2010s, and six in the 2020s . Primates have large brains (relative to body size) compared to other mammals, as well as an increased reliance on visual acuity at the expense of the sense of smell , which is the dominant sensory system in most mammals. These features are more developed in monkeys and apes, and noticeably less so in lorises and lemurs. Some primates, including gorillas , humans and baboons , are primarily ground-dwelling rather than arboreal, but all species have adaptations for climbing trees. Arboreal locomotion techniques used include leaping from tree to tree and swinging between branches of trees ( brachiation ); terrestrial locomotion techniques include walking on two hindlimbs ( bipedalism ) and modified walking on four limbs ( quadripedalism ) via knuckle-walking . Primates are among

1950-437: Is when humans play a game called fetch with a domestic dog , although in that situation the dog always catches, never throws. Such use is so common that it is a common metaphor for figuratively sending something to someone (e.g. to throw a bone ). An other very common use of the behavior is for disposal. The employed term is then typically throwing away , and it too is very commonly used figuratively. Studies differ as to

2028-582: Is willing to consider dropping as a special case of throwing, then one can include birds, most notably vultures , as some species are known to drop stones in order to break shells or other hard food sources on the ground. Orcas are often observed throwing seals in the air, usually by hitting them with their caudal fin. This behavior is speculated to be purely recreational. [REDACTED] Media related to Throwing at Wikimedia Commons Primates sister: Dermoptera Plesiadapiformes ( cladistically including crown primates ) Primates

2106-541: The Eocene by island hopping , facilitated by Atlantic Ocean ridges and a lowered sea level. Alternatively, a single rafting event may explain this transoceanic colonization. Due to continental drift , the Atlantic Ocean was not nearly as wide at the time as it is today. Research suggests that a small 1 kg (2.2 lb) primate could have survived 13 days on a raft of vegetation. Given estimated current and wind speeds, this would have provided enough time to make

2184-566: The Tethys Sea from Asia to Africa soon afterwards. There are two simian clades, both parvorders : Catarrhini , which developed in Africa, consisting of Old World monkeys , humans and the other apes, and Platyrrhini, which developed in South America, consisting of New World monkeys . A third clade, which included the eosimiids , developed in Asia, but became extinct millions of years ago. As in

2262-429: The ancient Greeks . A gun is a normally tubular weapon or other device designed to discharge projectiles or other material. The projectile may be solid, liquid, gas, or energy and may be free, as with bullets and artillery shells, or captive as with Taser probes and whaling harpoons . The means of projection varies according to design but is usually effected by the action of gas pressure, either produced through

2340-509: The gibbons and orangutan ... the gorilla and chimpanzee ... and humans "; thereby Benton was using apes to mean hominoids. In that case, the group heretofore called apes must now be identified as the non-human apes. As of 2021 , there is no consensus as to whether to accept traditional (that is, common), but paraphyletic, names or to use monophyletic names only; or to use 'new' common names or adaptations of old ones. Both competing approaches can be found in biological sources, often in

2418-479: The 12th century the technology was spreading through the rest of Asia, and into Europe by the 13th century. After millennia of empirical development, the discipline of ballistics was initially studied and developed by Italian mathematician Niccolò Tartaglia in 1531, although he continued to use segments of straight-line motion, conventions established by the Greek philosopher Aristotle and Albert of Saxony , but with

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2496-416: The archaeological records. They vary greatly in size and complexity, from the hand-held and extremely simple sling , to the very heavy and complex catapults . These two types of devices have in common with hand-throwing the fact that the only requirements for their projectiles are size and weight. In that sense they differ from more specialized throwing techniques such as those developed in archery , where

2574-614: The atmosphere and work very well in space. Rockets for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th century China . Significant scientific, interplanetary and industrial use did not occur until the 20th century, when rocketry was the enabling technology for the Space Age , including setting foot on the Moon . Rockets are now used for fireworks , weaponry , ejection seats , launch vehicles for artificial satellites , human spaceflight , and space exploration . Chemical rockets are

2652-802: The author, Colin Groves , increased that number to 376 for his contribution to the third edition of Mammal Species of the World (MSW3). However, publications since the taxonomy in MSW3 was compiled in 2003 have pushed the number to 522 species, or 708 including subspecies. Primate hybrids usually arise in captivity, but there have also been examples in the wild. Hybridization occurs where two species' range overlap to form hybrid zones ; hybrids may be created by humans when animals are placed in zoos or due to environmental pressures such as predation. Intergeneric hybridizations, hybrids of different genera, have also been found in

2730-469: The behaviour of a non-powered projectile in flight. External ballistics is frequently associated with firearms , and deals with the unpowered free-flight phase of the bullet after it exits the gun barrel and before it hits the target, so it lies between transitional ballistics and terminal ballistics . However, external ballistics is also concerned with the free-flight of rockets and other projectiles, such as balls, arrows etc. Terminal ballistics

2808-562: The biophysical limitations of throwing by hand, humans also designed tools to improve the efficiency of their throwing techniques. The atlatl , amentum , sling and various models of catapults are notable examples of throwing mechanisms . With the advent of bow and arrow , and later the gunpowder -based firearms , human innovation into throwing tools as ranged weapons essentially obsoleted, but throwing either by hand or with tools has persisted for recreational purposes (such as thrower tools in fishing and clay pigeon shooting ) or as

2886-428: The case of lemurs, the origin of New World monkeys is unclear. Molecular studies of concatenated nuclear sequences have yielded a widely varying estimated date of divergence between platyrrhines and catarrhines, ranging from 33 to 70 mya, while studies based on mitochondrial sequences produce a narrower range of 35 to 43 mya. The anthropoid primates possibly traversed the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to South America during

2964-543: The challenging environment among tree tops , including large brain sizes , binocular vision , color vision , vocalizations , shoulder girdles allowing a large degree of movement in the upper limbs , and opposable thumbs (in most but not all) that enable better grasping and dexterity . Primates range in size from Madame Berthe's mouse lemur , which weighs 30 g (1 oz), to the eastern gorilla , weighing over 200 kg (440 lb). There are 376–524 species of living primates, depending on which classification

3042-419: The clade Euarchontoglires , which is nested within the clade Eutheria of Class Mammalia . Recent molecular genetic research on primates, colugos , and treeshrews has shown that the two species of colugos are more closely related to primates than to treeshrews, even though treeshrews were at one time considered primates. These three orders make up the clade Euarchonta . The combination of this clade with

3120-642: The clade Glires (composed of Rodentia and Lagomorpha ) forms the clade Euarchontoglires. Variously, both Euarchonta and Euarchontoglires are ranked as superorders. Some scientists consider Dermoptera to be a suborder of Primates and use the suborder Euprimates for the "true" primates. The primate lineage is thought to go back at least near the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary or around 63–74 ( mya ). The earliest possible primate/proto-primate may be Purgatorius , which dates back to Early Paleocene of North America ~66mya. The oldest known primates from

3198-484: The degree of sexual dimorphism in throwing amongst modern humans. Research by MythBusters found that men and women throw almost equally well with their non-dominant hand, suggesting that the sexual differences were probably due to differences in training. Other research suggests there exist innate biological differences between the sexes that lead to disparities in throwing efficiency, with males better adapted at delivering more effective throws than females. Throwing

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3276-405: The elaboration of the brain, in particular the neocortex (a part of the cerebral cortex ), which is involved with sensory perception , generation of motor commands , spatial reasoning, conscious thought and, in humans, language . While other mammals rely heavily on their sense of smell , the arboreal life of primates has led to a tactile , visually dominant sensory system, a reduction in

3354-419: The eye sockets reinforces weaker bones in the face, which are put under strain during chewing. Strepsirrhines have a postorbital bar , a bone around the eye socket, to protect their eyes; in contrast, the higher primates, haplorhines , have evolved fully enclosed sockets. Primates show an evolutionary trend towards a reduced snout . Technically, Old World monkeys are distinguished from New World monkeys by

3432-400: The first lethal projectile ever described in discussion of ballistics. A string joins the two ends and when the string is drawn back, the ends of the stick are flexed. When the string is released, the potential energy of the flexed stick is transformed into the velocity of the arrow. Archery is the art or sport of shooting arrows from bows. A catapult is a device used to launch a projectile

3510-610: The first time made it possible to successfully predict trajectories. The word ballistics comes from the Greek βάλλειν ballein , meaning "to throw". A projectile is any object projected into space (empty or not) by the exertion of a force . Although any object in motion through space (for example a thrown baseball ) is a projectile, the term most commonly refers to a ranged weapon . Mathematical equations of motion are used to analyze projectile trajectory . Examples of projectiles include balls , arrows , bullets , artillery shells , wingless rockets , etc. Throwing

3588-577: The first time. The primate skull has a large, domed cranium , which is particularly prominent in anthropoids . The cranium protects the large brain, a distinguishing characteristic of this group. The endocranial volume (the volume within the skull) is three times greater in humans than in the greatest nonhuman primate, reflecting a larger brain size. The mean endocranial volume is 1,201 cubic centimeters in humans, 469 cm in gorillas , 400 cm in chimpanzees and 397 cm in orangutans . The primary evolutionary trend of primates has been

3666-554: The fossil record date to the Late Paleocene of Africa, c.57 mya ( Altiatlasius ) or the Paleocene-Eocene transition in the northern continents, c. 55 mya ( Cantius , Donrussellia , Altanius , Plesiadapis and Teilhardina ). Other studies, including molecular clock studies, have estimated the origin of the primate branch to have been in the mid-Cretaceous period, around 85 mya. By modern cladistic reckoning,

3744-439: The innovation that he connected the straight lines by a circular arc. Galileo established the principle of compound motion in 1638, using the principle to derive the parabolic form of the ballistic trajectory. Ballistics was put on a solid scientific and mathematical basis by Isaac Newton , with the publication of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1687. This gave mathematical laws of motion and gravity which for

3822-411: The launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles , especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets , unguided bombs , rockets or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance. A ballistic body is a free-moving body with momentum which can be subject to forces such as the forces exerted by pressurized gases from

3900-568: The living Strepsirrhini divides them into two infraorders, Lemuriformes and Lorisiformes. Order Primates was established by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, in the tenth edition of his book Systema Naturae , for the genera Homo (humans), Simia (other apes and monkeys), Lemur (prosimians) and Vespertilio (bats). In the first edition of the same book (1735), he had used the name Anthropomorpha for Homo , Simia and Bradypus (sloths). In 1839, Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville , following Linnaeus and aping his nomenclature, established

3978-737: The living primates: groups that use common (traditional) names are shown on the right. Dermoptera [REDACTED] lemurs (superfamily Lemuroidea) [REDACTED] lorises and allies (superfamily Lorisoidea) [REDACTED] tarsiers (superfamily Tarsioidea) [REDACTED] New World monkeys (parvorder Platyrrhini) [REDACTED] Old World monkeys (superfamily Cercopithecoidea) [REDACTED] gibbons (family Hylobatidae) [REDACTED] orangutans (subfamily Ponginae) [REDACTED] gorillas (tribe Gorillini) [REDACTED] humans (g. Homo ) [REDACTED] chimpanzees, bonobos (g. Pan ) [REDACTED] All groups with scientific names are clades , or monophyletic groups, and

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4056-769: The maximal speed attainable by chimpanzees, at about 30 km/h (19 mph). This ability reflects the ability of the human shoulder muscles and tendons to store elasticity until it is needed to propel an object. Types of throws include overhand throws, underhand throws and using both hands. Overhand throws are thrown predominantly above the shoulder, underhand throws below. Overhand throws are usually significantly faster, and ball speeds of 105 miles per hour (169 km/h) have been recorded in baseball . Thrown objects can often be intentionally spun for stability or aerodynamic effects. The notion of throwing typically refers to an action performed without mechanical assistance, but mechanical assistance, as long as it does not involve

4134-563: The most cognitively advanced animals, with humans (genus Homo ) capable of creating complex languages and sophisticated civilizations , and non-human primates are recorded to use tools . They may communicate using facial and hand gestures, smells and vocalizations. Close interactions between humans and non-human primates (NHPs) can create opportunities for the transmission of zoonotic diseases , especially virus diseases including herpes , measles , ebola , rabies and hepatitis . Thousands of non-human primates are used in research around

4212-405: The most social of all animals, forming pairs or family groups, uni-male harems, and multi-male/multi-female groups. Non-human primates have at least four types of social systems , many defined by the amount of movement by adolescent females between groups. Primates have slower rates of development than other similarly sized mammals, reach maturity later, and have longer lifespans. Primates are also

4290-425: The most common type of high performance rocket and they typically create their exhaust by the combustion of rocket propellant . Chemical rockets store a large amount of energy in an easily released form, and can be very dangerous. However, careful design, testing, construction and use minimizes risks. Ballistics is often broken down into the following four categories: Internal ballistics (also interior ballistics),

4368-475: The number of cusps on their molars : monkeys have four, apes have five - although humans may have four or five. The main hominid molar cusp ( hypocone ) evolved in early primate history, while the cusp of the corresponding primitive lower molar (paraconid) was lost. Prosimians are distinguished by their immobilized upper lips, the moist tip of their noses and forward-facing lower front teeth. Primates generally have five digits on each limb ( pentadactyly ), with

4446-467: The olfactory region of the brain and increasingly complex social behavior. The visual acuity of humans and other hominids is exceptional; they have the most acute vision known among all vertebrates, with the exception of certain species of predatory birds . Primates have forward-facing eyes on the front of the skull; binocular vision allows accurate distance perception, useful for the brachiating ancestors of all great apes. A bony ridge above

4524-491: The order Primates is monophyletic . The suborder Strepsirrhini , the " wet-nosed " primates, is generally thought to have split off from the primitive primate line about 63 mya, although earlier dates are also supported. The seven strepsirrhine families are the five related lemur families and the two remaining families that include the lorisids and the galagos . Older classification schemes wrap Lepilemuridae into Lemuridae and Galagidae into Lorisidae , yielding

4602-413: The orders Secundates (including the suborders Chiroptera , Insectivora and Carnivora ), Tertiates (or Glires ) and Quaternates (including Gravigrada , Pachydermata and Ruminantia ), but these new taxa were not accepted. Before Anderson and Jones introduced the classification of Strepsirrhini and Haplorhini in 1984, (followed by McKenna and Bell's 1997 work Classification of Mammals: Above

4680-408: The period during which a rocket engine is providing thrust. Transitional ballistics, also known as intermediate ballistics, is the study of a projectile's behavior from the time it leaves the muzzle until the pressure behind the projectile is equalized, so it lies between internal ballistics and external ballistics . External ballistics is the part of the science of ballistics that deals with

4758-404: The pouch. The middle finger or thumb is placed through a loop on the end of one cord, and a tab at the end of the other cord is placed between the thumb and forefinger. The sling is swung in an arc, and the tab released at a precise moment. This frees the projectile to fly to the target. A bow is a flexible piece of material which shoots aerodynamic projectiles called arrows . The arrow is perhaps

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4836-430: The primates, several of these groups are paraphyletic , or rather they do not include all the descendants of a common ancestor. In contrast with Clark's methodology, modern classifications typically identify (or name) only those groupings that are monophyletic ; that is, such a named group includes all the descendants of the group's common ancestor. The cladogram below shows one possible classification sequence of

4914-439: The projectiles have very strong requirements for their shape. Throwing is used for propelling weapons such as stones or spears at enemies, predators, or prey. Track and field contains four major throwing events: discus throw , hammer throw , javelin throw and shot put . The weight throw is the fifth most common field throwing event, while the club throw is unique to disability athletics . Throwing can be performed in

4992-476: The rapid combustion of a propellant or compressed and stored by mechanical means, operating on the projectile inside an open-ended tube in the fashion of a piston. The confined gas accelerates the movable projectile down the length of the tube imparting sufficient velocity to sustain the projectile's travel once the action of the gas ceases at the end of the tube or muzzle. Alternatively, acceleration via electromagnetic field generation may be employed in which case

5070-420: The release of chemical or electric energy, does not fundamentally change the nature of the action, and can thus be considered as throwing too. As such, throwing mechanisms will be discussed in this section. The overhand throwing motion is a complex motor skill that involves the entire body in a series of linked movements starting from the legs, progressing up through the pelvis and trunk, and culminating in

5148-404: The rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction . Rocket engines push rockets forward simply by throwing their exhaust backwards extremely fast. While comparatively inefficient for low speed use, rockets are relatively lightweight and powerful, capable of generating large accelerations and of attaining extremely high speeds with reasonable efficiency. Rockets are not reliant on

5226-538: The same work, and sometimes by the same author. Thus, Benton defines apes to include humans, then he repeatedly uses ape-like to mean 'like an ape rather than a human'; and when discussing the reaction of others to a new fossil he writes of "claims that Orrorin ... was an ape rather than a human". A list of the families of the living primates is given below, together with one possible classification into ranks between order and family. Other classifications are also used. For example, an alternative classification of

5304-430: The sequence of scientific classification reflects the evolutionary history of the related lineages. Groups that are traditionally named are shown on the right; they form an "ascending series" (per Clark, see above), and several groups are paraphyletic: Thus, the members of the two sets of groups, and hence names, do not match, which causes problems in relating scientific names to common (usually traditional) names. Consider

5382-406: The species level ), Primates was divided into two superfamilies: Prosimii and Anthropoidea . Prosimii included all of the prosimians : Strepsirrhini plus the tarsiers . Anthropoidea contained all of the simians . Rodentia (rodents) Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, pikas) Scandentia (treeshrews) Dermoptera (colugos) † Plesiadapiformes crown primates Order Primates is part of

5460-677: The structure of the nose, and from apes by the arrangement of their teeth . In New World monkeys, the nostrils face sideways; in Old World monkeys, they face downwards. Dental pattern in primates vary considerably; although some have lost most of their incisors , all retain at least one lower incisor. In most strepsirrhines, the lower incisors form a toothcomb , which is used in grooming and sometimes foraging. Old World monkeys have eight premolars , compared with 12 in New World monkeys. The Old World species are divided into apes and monkeys depending on

5538-438: The superfamily Hominoidea: In terms of the common names on the right, this group consists of apes and humans and there is no single common name for all the members of the group. One remedy is to create a new common name, in this case hominoids . Another possibility is to expand the use of one of the traditional names. For example, in his 2005 book, the vertebrate palaeontologist Benton wrote, "The apes, Hominoidea, today include

5616-648: The targeted throwing of rocks at a specific target, leading to the gradual accumulation of a stone pile, has also been described for chimpanzees. Wooden darts were used for hunting at least from the Middle Paleolithic , by Homo heidelbergensis . The spear-thrower is a development of the Upper Paleolithic , certainly in use by the Solutrean (c. 20,000 years ago). Human athletes can achieve throwing speeds close to 145 km/h (90 mph), far in excess of

5694-402: The tube may be dispensed with and a guide rail substituted. A weapons engineer or armourer who applies the scientific principles of ballistics to design cartridges are often called a ballistician . A rocket is a missile , spacecraft , aircraft or other vehicle that obtains thrust from a rocket engine . Rocket engine exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within

5772-764: The voyage between the continents. Apes and monkeys spread from Africa into Europe and Asia starting in the Miocene . Soon after, the lorises and tarsiers made the same journey. The first hominin fossils were discovered in northern Africa and date back 5–8 mya. Old World monkeys disappeared from Europe about 1.8 mya. Molecular and fossil studies generally show that modern humans originated in Africa 100,000–200,000 years ago. Although primates are well studied in comparison to other animal groups, several new species have been discovered recently , and genetic tests have revealed previously unrecognised species in known populations. Primate Taxonomy listed about 350 species of primates in 2001;

5850-461: The wild. Although they belong to genera that have been distinct for several million years, interbreeding still occurs between the gelada and the hamadryas baboon . On 24 January 2018, scientists in China reported in the journal Cell the creation of two crab-eating macaque clones , named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua , using the complex DNA transfer method that produced Dolly the sheep , for

5928-454: The world because of their psychological and physiological similarity to humans. About 60% of primate species are threatened with extinction. Common threats include deforestation , forest fragmentation , monkey drives , and primate hunting for use in medicines, as pets, and for food. Large-scale tropical forest clearing for agriculture most threatens primates. The English name primates is derived from Old French or French primat , from

6006-429: Was either a lemuriform primate (meaning its ancestors split from the lemur line more recently than lemurs and lorises split) or a sister group to all the other strepsirrhines. In 2008, the aye-aye family was confirmed to be most closely related to the other Malagasy lemurs, likely having descended from the same ancestral population that colonized the island. Suborder Haplorhini , the simple-nosed or "dry-nosed" primates,

6084-408: Was one of the primatologists who developed the idea of trends in primate evolution and the methodology of arranging the living members of an order into an "ascending series" leading to humans. Commonly used names for groups of primates such as prosimians , monkeys , lesser apes , and great apes reflect this methodology. According to our current understanding of the evolutionary history of

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