Question

The fossil of primitive man recovered from Shivalik hills in India is
A. Oligopithecus
B. Paranthropus
C. Ramapithecus
D. Propliopithecus

Answer 1

Hint: We get to know about the ancient life forms that have been through various stages of evolution by studying fossils. Fossils are prehistoric remains of plants or animals which are preserved inside various layers of the earth. They can be in the form of impressions, remains, stone imprints or remains of body parts.

Complete answer:
According to archaeologists the first humans were like shrews, intelligent enough to sense and avoid danger. When we talk about men then they existed about 15 million years ago and were known as Dryopithecus and Ramapithecus, they had hairy appearance and resembled Gorillas and Chimpanzees. Ramapithecus resembled men more and Dryopithecus resembled apes. Australopithecines lived 2 million years ago in East African grasslands. They hunted with stones and weapons and ate fruits. Homo habilis was the first human-like creature and had brain capacities between 650-800cc. Homo erectus came after them nearly around 1.5 million years ago with brain capacities around 900cc. Neanderthal man came after Homo erectus and had brain capacity 1400cc and lived 1,00,000 to 40,000 years back. Homo sapiens appeared around 45,000 – 10,000 years ago.
Oligopithecus lived in Africa during the Oligocene period which was 33.9 to 23 million years ago.
Paranthropus includes two extinct species P. robustus and P. boisei. They are considered similar to Australopithecus. They lived towards the end of the Pliocene and mid of Pleistocene period. Their fossils have been found in Kenya, Ethiopia and Africa.
Ramapithecus dated 12.2 million years old from their fossils. Their fossils were found in the Shivalik hills present in the Kutch of Indian subcontinent in the 19th century. They are the ancestors of orangutans. They are also known as Shivapithecus.
Propliopithecus include long primates which represent present day’s gibbons. They had human-like dental appearance and were found in the middle of the Oligocene period.

So the answer for this question is Option C - Ramapithecus.

Note:
The first fossil skeleton of humans was found in Southern Wales in 1823 which was ceremonially buried under 6 inches of soil in a limestone cave facing the sea. William Buckland was the geologist who unearthed it.