It is science which has dated the first hominids to several million years ago and Homo sapiens to less than 200,000 years ago.
Age of earliest known hominids in Java, Indonesia.
The development of upright walking in early hominids is still an area of some debate.
It was a very tall species, towering above other hominids alive at the time especially the stumpy Homo habilis.
His explanation of certain developments in later hominids, explained solely through the necessity to search for food, is less convincing.