Towards the place of a Human being in the animal kingdom

Abstract

The problem of the unique phenomic and genomic characteristics of a Human being is considered. The charts illustrating the phylogenetic systematics of hominids and the position of a Human being in the taxonomic hierarchy of the animal kingdom are presented. The evolutionary and genetic mechanisms that shaped the modern type people are discussed. Special attention is paid to neoteny and self-domestication of Humans. The materials of comparative genomics giving evidence of the uniqueness of the structural and functional characteristics of Human genomes are analyzed. The prospects of the development of a unified science of man predicted by K. Marx are outlined.