Proof of Evolution That Can Be Seen on Your Body

Vox senior editorial producer Joss Fong highlights some vestigial traits of the modern human body that serve to prove that humans evolved over the course of millions of years. Examples include muscles, tendons, and other body parts present day humans don’t need, but still, have as leftovers from earlier evolutionary stages.

Forty-two percent of Americans say that humans were created in their present form within the past 10,000 years — a percentage that hasn’t changed much since 1982, when Gallup started polling views on evolution.

Several lines of evidence, from the fossil record, comparative anatomy, and genetics, tell another story. But you don’t have to read all the research to find signs of our evolutionary history — you can see it in the vestigial structures in each of our bodies, like the third molars that no longer fit in our mouths.