The progression we see in the fossil record can't be explained that way. We see apelike things outside the range of human variation becoming more humanlike until they fall within the range of human variation AS YOU COME FORWARD IN TIME. We see what you would see if we evolved from apes.
Darwin didn't have this evidence in 1859. Nevertheless, his theory meant such forms must have existed. Now we have found many. That's a good prediction for which creationists studiously avoid giving him credit, nor do they attempt to address how he did it if he's supposed to be such a charlatan.
Are apes evolving into humans
When one assumes the history of primates is one from ape to human it is not difficult to make the evidence support the assumption. I know how much I do not know. I also know textbooks on paleontology take what is found in the field and present it in a manner that is in accord with evolutionist dogma; from the simple to the more complex. From an intuitive standpoint this fits nicely and is reasonable and believable.
Give me the fossil record completely and in 3D before it is removed from the field and before it is interpreted. Then let me think for myself. Unless you do this you are asking me to take other people's word for things. Rare is the observer who sets out to deceive himself and others. Common to all is the inclination to fill in the blanks in favor of initial assumptions, and thus miss the mark in determining what is objective reality.