Final answer:
The earliest great apes date back to the Miocene epoch, from approximately 23 to 14 million years ago, with notable genera such as Proconsul and Sivapithecus.
Step-by-step explanation:
The earliest great apes lived during the Miocene epoch, which is a time period that stretches from about 23 million to 5 million years ago. One of the earliest known Miocene apes is Proconsul africanus, which lived in Africa from around 23 to 14 million years ago. Unlike modern apes, Proconsul had a limb structure that suggests they moved about on all fours rather than brachiating (swinging from branch to branch), and they lacked tails. Sivapithecus is another well-known Miocene ape, with fossils found throughout Asia and features resembling the living orangutan. These early apes had a dental formula of 2.1.2.3, which is characteristic of all Old World monkeys and apes, including humans.