Biologists would dearly like to know how modern apes, modern humans and the various ancestral hominids have evolved from a common ancestor. Unfortunately, the fossil record is somewhat incomplete as far as the hominids are concerned, and it is all but blank for the apes. The best we can hope for is that more fossils will be found over the next few years which will fill the present gaps in the evidence. The author goes on to say: David Pilbeam [a well-known expert in human evolution] comments wryly, If you brought in a smart scientist from another discipline and showed him the meagre evidence weve got he'd surely say, forget it: there isnt enough to go on.
(Richard E. Leakey, The Making of Mankind, Michael Joseph Limited, London, 1981, p. 43)
Do you know how many fossils have been found since 1981?