Humans Technically Are Apes...

Just an irony I have always found with these movies. We ourselves are a short-haired, long-legged ape, but an ape nonetheless. Genetically, humans and chimpanzees have more in common than chimpanzees and gorillas. Most apes are aboreal, or designed for tree life. Humans as an ape became primarily terrestrial. For example, if you look at the feet of non-human apes, they look like another set of hands. And such apes have short, weak legs, so they are unable to stand upright for any long period of time. Humans by contrast are designed to walk upright and run distance. Humans are pretty much the best distance runners on Earth, able to run down almost all animals (in hot climates at least). As an ape, humans have very short body hair, a huge profusion of sweat glands, a tremendous amount of slow-twitch muscle fibers, large knee joints, and the biggest butts of all primates, which play the role normally played by a tail when running. This is probably also why humans get fat so easily when being sedentary, because the way nature designed us, we're supposed to be out running some number of miles each day.

Humans are also the only ape with a throwing arm. Other apes can throw with power and a general degree of accuracy, but generally only underhanded (chimps can manage a very weak overhand throw), and none can throw with the level of precision of humans. The ability to throw projectiles made humans into the dominant predator, as humans can kill any animal simply by throwing a primitive spear into it. And because humans use tools, via a very simple tool called a spear thrower, humans can throw spears much farther and with much more force then just with their arm.

It used to be thought that the primary difference between humans and apes was that humans use tools and apes don't, but then it was found that other apes, and other primates, and even some non-primate animals such as certain birds and dolphins, do use tools. In the case of chimpanzees, they make tools and primitive spears too for stabbing at prey (they take sticks and use their teeth to chew off the twigs and leaves to make a point). Humans as an ape are the most advanced toolmaker.

Humans have huge brains with a very developed neocortex, which allows us to engage in abstract thinking at a high level and recognition of symbols at an advanced level. We also have very highly-developed motor skills. This all thus allows us to engage in advanced multi-part tool making and craftsmanship, and also the act of and recognition of writing and the ability to understand and do mathematics. Mathematics allows us to gain an advanced understanding of how the universe works, i.e. physics, which we then have been able to use for extremely advanced tool making and engineering. And our motor skills also allow for the precision throwing of projectiles.

Humans also can engage in and recognize highly complex verbal communication, i.e. language. We have smaller jaws then other apes because we haven't had the need to chew up tough raw food in the way other apes need. Our ancestors, such as Homo Erectus, began processing its food with stones and learned to create fire. So Homo Sapien, ourselves, by the time we evolved, had no need for a strong powerful jaw or tough digestive system, because of using tools and fire to process food and cooking it.