It is common knowledge that some life-forms are extinct (no longer exist); for example, the dinosaurs. The so-called transitional forms leading up to human beings, if we accept the scientific methodology as reliable, would have simply been more anthropomorphic (more human-looking) apes now extinct and nothing more. Also, any so-called, human-like abilities would be accounted for by more advanced intelligence than modern apes.

In simpler terms, if the transitional forms are real:

They would have simply been smarter, more human-looking APES from which man did NOT descend (did NOT evolve).

PS: In the future, we will refer to these “unproven” creatures as “man-apes.”