I'm wondering if any ancient society was essentially able to guess correctly the origin of humanity based on observing the animals around them, and if that worked its way into a documented ancient religion or other story.
In Q'iche' Maya tradition, as recorded in the Popol Wuj, monkeys were a "prototype" of humans. The creator first attempted to create people using sticks, which did not succeed. He then used mud, which created the monkeys of the jungle. Finally, he succeeded by using masa, a corn dough.