The question of whether the transition from apes to humans represents an early stage of human society or a stage of ape evolution has long puzzled scholars. One perspective argues that this period is part of early human society, while another contends it belongs to the ape stage.
In the late 1980s, Chinese scholars introduced a new insight, suggesting that the "transitional beings" from apes to humans represent an independent existence. This existence is neither fully developed humans nor apes. Specifically, these "transitional beings" lack the ability to create tools, do not possess certain biological traits of early apes, and lack language skills. Their social organization is merely a larger group rather than the more complex societal structures described by Marx and Engels as the "childhood of humanity."
On the other hand, these transitional beings could utilize natural tools for labor, demonstrating a division of labor between hands and feet, walking upright, forming larger, more permanent groups, and developing primitive language and nascent consciousness. These characteristics distinctly differentiate them from both apes and fully formed humans. Scholars believe that recognizing the transition from apes to humans as an independent stage helps to define the scope of primitive society and avoids the pitfalls of categorizing these transitional beings as either humans or apes. This approach underscores the importance of Engels' discussions on human origins while preventing confusion between the social organization of transitional beings and that of human society.
The question of the classification of the transition from apes to humans is a fundamental theoretical issue in the study of human history, requiring further exploration to reach a consensus.
