What would you do if your dog made a pass at your wife or daughter?

Certainly the outrage and anger you’d feel was the same that the decent folks in Money, Mississippi felt when they learned that a fourteen year old simian had whistled at 21-year-old human.

That fourteen year old simian was Emmett Till. The twenty one year old human he whistled at was Carolyn Bryant.

Listen. Black people are not human. They are homo erectus. Do a google image search and you’ll see that negros look like them and still live like them in much of the world. Even in civilization, they’ll drag society down to their homo erectus level.

So, the outrage at Emmett Till wolf whistling at a human being wasn’t out of line. Again, What would you do if your dog made a pass at your wife or daughter?

WHAT WE DO KNOW:

Negroes have very dark skin. God gave them dark skin so they could work outdoors all day. The high melanin content in Negro skin makes them immune from getting sunburnt by blocking harmful UV rays. Contrast this with Whites, who have light skin, who God has afforded the luxury of living and working indoors.
Negroes are physically robust. There is no doubt that Negroes have been blessed with superior athletic attributes. Their race is a strong, agile, hardy, and quick one. One needs to look no further to professional sports leagues where negroes dominate. God made them to be so physically powerful so they could work long hours for their White masters.
Negroes are sexually overactive. Statistics prove that negroes are much more sexually active than other races. Negro bucks seek to implant their seed in as many women as possible, giving rise to high illegitmate births in negro communities. Negresses also engage in sex with multiple partners, often having 6+ children each with a different father. God designed them to breed profusely so that White masters could always have a large amount of slaves available. It takes a lot of hands to work the field.
Negroes need White guidance. Look at any community/village/country that is majority Negro. It is infested with a myriad of problems. Rampant crime, fornication, drug abuse, abject poverty, starvation, etc. It is clear that Negroes cannot take care of themselves. God never thought to give them the sagacity to govern themselves since He intended White people to look after them.
Negroes are great dancers and singers. Nowadays people with exceptional dancing and singing talents become celebrities, but in the past those were roles for servants. Kings, lords, and masters had talented servants who could sing and dance and entertain them. God blessed the Negroes with rich voices and agile movements so they could entertain their White superiors.
The Negro diet is tailored to outdoor living. Negroes are very fond of food that is refreshing after a long day’s work. Watermelons and grape soda are good for cooling off after a long day in the fields. It is clear that God designed the negro for an outdoor life, which is reflected in their dietary preferences.
Negroes have lower IQs than Whites. It has been proven time and time again in scientific studies that Negroes rank lower than Whites on average. Negroes are severely underrepresented in any field which requires intense intellectual effort: The fine arts, the sciences, mathematics, engineering, business, theology, etc. God did not need to give them large brains because they were never intended to do this kind of work. This is the domain of White people, their masters.

In part two of Becoming Human, NOVA/PBS started to link us (Homo sapiens) to the common ancestor that we share with chimpanzees.  That “link” (although I hate the word) is Homo erectus which lived around two million years ago up to having a few isolated tribes around in Asia as close to 50,000 years ago.  Homo erectus was a tool maker, first to have socialized groups, user of fire and the first of us (members of the genus Homo) leave the Great Rift of Valley of Africa and follow their prey as the grasslands of Africa started to shift to Asia and Europe.

Their exploration looked into the discovery of the Turkana Boy, which fossilized skeleton was mostly preserved (due to that it died in water and there was preserved from carnivores).  They discovered the age of Turkana Boy was 8 and he was an astounding 5’3’’.  This high rate of growth early in development closely resembles that of apes.  NOVA explored why today’s Homo sapiens develop much more slowly.  It’s important to remember that our brain (1300 cc) is much larger than that of Homo erectus.  Now, our brains development occurs mostly outside the womb (because if our heads were too big, we would be unlikely to be born for obvious reasons), therefore an increase childhood gives us more time for our brains to develop and thus explaining why Homo sapiens development is much slower than that of Homo erectus and chimps.

Although, Homo erectus brain is much smaller than ours, it is still almost double that of the common ancestor and chimps.  With increase brain size (which takes up to 25% of the total body’s energy) comes a need for increase calories.  This increase the selection to eat more meat and marrow which is high in calories and protein.  It’s important to remember unlike us, Homo erectus was not at the top of the food chain, they were neither fast nor strong, which made them poor predators.  Unlike their relatives they were hairless and had the ability to sweat, therefore giving them an advantage in endurance races with predators and with the development of tools also gave them an advantage.  So, like today’s bushman, they would run the prey down over a long distance (up to 4 hours) until it would be completely exhausted (due to inability to cool itself) and then kill it with spears (short range tools anyway).  This made them efficient hunters but they were in as much danger to get eaten as that prey was.

They also talked about why, when, and who were the first to leave Africa (Homo erectus) and why they were so successful (social communities, helping each other out), which could bring the answer to the origin of morality.

The final episode will air next Tuesday (11/17) at 8 p.m. on PBS and is entitled; Last Human Standing.

Not long after CNN posted the El Mirador videos on internet the site was caught up in the 2012circus. Just the fact that it appears to have been completely unheard of before this is just revealing how ignorant the 2012ers are. The site has been known and investigated for decades. Mel Gibson contacted Richard Hansen to consult him for Apocalypto after watching a documentary of his work in the Mirador basin. I think this was broadcasted by Discovery Channel. Thus, the site should have been known to any 2012er with an interest in the actual archaeological record. Since few of them have such an interest, but rather believe anything prophets of nonsense interpret as alien intervention is more accurate, this site remained unknown to them. But now that it is known it has already become infested by the 2012virus.

This also shows the ethnocentrism of the 2012circus. I will use this recent “takeover” of Mirador as an example. On 2012forum.com one of the moderators (“suz”) says that “these were not primitive people and the findings here rewrite the Mayan history.” Later on “Vision-master” wonders “they built these all by hand? Why do we keep looking back at ancient civilizations as primitive?” Suz replies and says “I don’t, and I think this line of thinking is slowly changing by the mainstream.” This may sound fairly innocent. It may be seen as a positive evaluation of past people as more “advanced” than the mainstream opinion may be. This is not so. Through the labeling of people as advanced or primitive the mindset of many 2012ers is revealed. This is based on ethnocentric colonialism of the 19th century (and most of their ideas of cultural diffusion dates back to the 19^th century as well). The interesting thing is that 2012ers attempt to attribute these evaluations to archaeologists and others when it is quite obvious that it is the 2012ers who have them.

No clearer is this when “Thirdeye” says “No suprise to me since the anunaki helped the mayas build their empire.” Suz replies and says “That may very well be close to the truth. Somebody intelligent built them and obviously it wasn’t the kind that Mel Gibson portrayed in his film. There was a technology that was capable of creating these buildings that were meant to last. Also there are massive underground cities in Tikal and other parts of the world such as Egypt under the pyramids far too elaborate for the times.” Apart from ignorant statements of supposedly underground cities at Tikal (tunnels excavated by archaeologists or caves maybe?) and a Mayan empire, these people cannot possibly think that the Maya could build these buildings by themselves. The Annunaki helped them…

The Annunaki are Mesopotamian deities. However, the pseudoscientist Sitchin claims these are humanlike aliens from the planet Nibiru (who will return in 2012…). The Annunaki apparently genetically engineered modern humans by mixing Annunaki genes with those of Homo erectus 450,000 years ago. Humans were designed to become slaves. Civilization was created under the guidance of these Annunaki.

The 2012ers therefore argue that the ancient Maya (or any other “civilization”) were incapable of coming up with these buildings, writing, etc. all by themselves. They needed guidance. This sounds much like the “white man’s burden”, where non-western people were seen as child like. Thus, it was, in the European colonialists view, their obligation to rule over and develop people’s culture so that they could adopt a western way of life. Although many 2012ers are against the current way of living and see 2012 as a change of the current situation, they argue that to be primitive is to have a simple technology and the lack of intelligence to build pyramids (Suz says “somebody intelligent built them”). It is also revealing that Vision-Master doubts that pyramids like this could be built by hand. As clearly shown in the movies the stones were not large like in Egypt and there is an example of a handprint on a piece of mud stuck in-between the rocks. It was quite basic building technology.

But if you write something like that you will be accused of seeing them as primitive. The 2012ers people mix skill and technology. They fall prey for the simple linear view of technological development as well. In such a view, technology should become more complex as time proceeds. “Primitive” people like Inuits should in such a view have simpler technology than farming communities like El Mirador. Not true. Inuit hunting spears are more complex than a planting stick. Also, it takes plenty more skill to hunt seals with spears than to pile rocks into a pyramid.

Now, the 2012ers would not see Mirador as a farming community, but the remains of something far more advanced. Thirdeye says this about the Annunaki: “technology wise they will always be far greater. I wouldnt be at all suprise if they could destroy our planet if they wanted too. Look at the technology they had in egyptian times……If they didnt fear the anunaki then they would be more open and truthfull about our real history but we are continuosly fed with lies. FACT” Thus, whatever the 2012 debunkers say it will always be lies. This is like arguing with a religious fundamentalist….and btw, the creationists are already in this circus. They are the most ethnocentric and even racist regarding the Maya.

Finally “Aquarian Trumpet” says that “the Egyptians did not create the Giza pyramids – they were only the ‘new found’ caretakers  Well – it is my contention that the Mayan’s have also been bestowed with the same honor! Now before you go away – hear me out..;…not all of the Mayan temples were bestowed upon them -just a few – the others are rebuilt remnants and unfinished construction. I believe Chicken Itza is also a sky map, maybe in conjuction with the Giza sky map!!! Also – the new found glyph at el Mirador…it’s not what they think it is – they are reading it wrong…it’s a warning”

Thus, some Maya rebuilt remnants and did not finish their buildings. They were primarily caretakers of buildings already constructed by aliens. You must have complete lack of knowledge of archaeology to claim such ethnocentric nonsense. But this is in line with the last sentence. A new found glyph (I guess he/she refers to the “Popol Vuh” frieze…), is argued to be read in the wrong way. I am sure he or someone else not well attuned with Maya iconography and epigraphy will give us a proper interpretation any time soon. It would not be a surprise if the Annunaki are found in Mirador’s monumental art as well. I end this post with a song by the German metal band Running Wild that summarizes Sitchin’s nonsense ideas of the Annunaki:

“Setelah 15 tahun menjadi rumor, para peneliti akhirnya mengumumkan bahwa fosil berusia 4,4 juta tahun itu merupakan salah satu leluhur manusia”

Begitu kira-kira kalimat pembuka salah satu artikel di The Wall Street Journal terbitan 2 Oktober. Fosil makhluk ini kemudian dinamai Ardipithecus ramidus (Ardi).

Menurut para peneliti, Ardi merupakan salah satu mata rantai evolusi manusia, hidup mendahului Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis), Homo erectus, dan Homo neanderthalensis, yang kemudian menurunkan manusia modern.

Ardi sendiri diduga memiliki nenek moyang yang belum diketahui, diperkirakan hidup 6 juta tahun yang lalu. Si nenek moyang X ini yang kemudian menjadi leluhur bersama antara manusia dan primata. Setelah makhluk X ini keturunannya kemudian bercabang, satu menjadi manusia, satu lagi menjadi primata.

Berita tentang Ardi merupakan berita baru. Namun tema yang melingkupinya sudah jauh hari dipicu oleh Darwin dengan Teori Evolusinya. Mudah disangka, penentang garda depan teori ini adalah pemegang otoritas agama.

Untuk memahami lingkup kejadian ini, ada baiknya kita menoleh sebentar ke belakang, meneropong masa kebangkitan sains di Eropa beberapa abad lalu.

Seiring kebangkitan sains, otoritas agama mendapatkan serangan bertubi-tubi. Pukulan berat pertama datang dari Copernicus dan Galileo. Mereka mengabarkan bahwa bumi bukanlah pusat alam semesta. Bumi hanya salah satu planet yang berputar mengelilingi matahari.

Ini jelas membatalkan anggapan manusia sebagai pusat kosmis. Jika ternyata bumi ini hanya salah satu planet kecil yang mengelilingi matahari, sedangkan matahari ini hanya serupa bintang mini yang mengorbit Bima Sakti, lantas dimana letak posisi istimewa manusia dalam kosmis alam raya?

Kenyataan bahwa manusia bukanlah pusat alam semesta akan membuyarkan kebanggaan manusia sebagai makhluk Tuhan yang paling mulia. Manusia semestinya berada di sentral, bukan sekedar penghuni pinggiran semesta.

Belum reda pukulan “kosmis”, muncul pula seorang pengelana pendiam bernama Darwin. Sepulang berkelana dia mengabarkan berita yang lebih menggemparkan bahwa makhluk hidup tunduk dalam proses evolusi. Bentuk yang diperoleh sekarang bukanlah bentuk yang tetap, melainkan setelah melalui perubahan bertahap.

Kabar ini jelas bertentangan dengan yang tertulis di kitab suci. Manusia adalah keturunan Adam dan Hawa yang diturunkan dari surga. Tuhan juga telah memberikan rupa Adam dan Hawa dalam bentuk yang sempurna. Tidak tertulis sepotongpun kata evolusi dalam kitab suci.

“Sabda” Darwin semakin menenggelamkan manusia pada krisis identitas, semakin terlukalah harga dirinya. Setelah manusia kehilangan posisi sentralnya di alam raya, sekarang seseorang hendak mengatakan bahwa manusia bukanlah makhluk surgawi. Manusia tak berbeda dengan spesies lain yang berkembang melalui proses evolusi. Bahwa leluhur manusia bisa jadi tak lebih dari seekor makhluk berbulu.

Begitulah, pertempuran mengenai asal muasal manusia nampaknya masih akan berlangsung lama, semenjak sains sendiri belum bisa menawarkan posisi yang pasti dan ‘decisive’ perihal ini.[]

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The 4.4 million year old fossil hominid “Ardi” is forcing some rethinking about human evolution.

No video, just music, so turn it on and keep reading.

When I saw the Associated Press story in the Lethbridge Herald this morning I was very pleased. I haven’t written a letter to the editor for ages, and a news story that calmly asserts that the world is older than 6000 years is bound to bring out the loonies. Good letter writin’ ahead for Dr. Jim, folks!

The Mail Online has a great story on the subject, with a lot of images and whatnot.

From the Mail Online (link above).

The Ardipithecus ramidus fossil implies that existing theories about a common ancestor for humans and chimpanzees are wrong, that ancestor needs to be a million years older at least. The chart below is also from the Mail Online story.

Now, there is a lot of sciency stuff to talk about here, and how well the media reported on it, but I’m not the right blogger to do that. PZ Myers over at Phyrangula has a few opinions on the subject and his blog would be a good start with that.

What I’m interested in is the reaction to all of this. Anytime “science” has to change its mind about things because of new evidence is usually cause of much rejoicing in the creationist camp because “once again science got it wrong”.

Again, nothin’ to see but you can listen to some great funky Troglodyte grooves!

What motivated this post was my perusal of the TOP 50 Bibliobloggers list, since I’m now on it (!), and the discovery on that list of some other bloggers who have mentioned Ardi already.  So here they are, Ardi according to some Bibliobloggers.

The Blog clan. Grampa Og Blog, Jim West’s great great great (well, not that great) granddaddy, is on the far right with a prehistoric prototype of the  now infamous Dilettante whapper.

A Carnival (of sorts)
Cue requisite carnival picture!

Are a few of them Poes?

Stolen from the BBC

Well, what did you expect? Some 9/10 nikkid lady dancer?

The Number One Biblioblogger, Jim West, has posted “Evolutionists Meet Your Granny” and suggested that Ardi is the grandmother of Richard Dawkins, among others assorted hominids, along with a few  Bible bloggers, including yours truly He includes some photos for comparison. He has forgotten to label them. Here is his picture:

West is on the left. On the right is the great great great grandson of Ulrich Zwingli, some other unimportant guy.

As for a comment on Dr. West’s post, all I can say is “Ardi, har har…”

~~~~~~~

“Polycarp” (#2 most popular biblioblogger) over at Church of Jesus Christ writes, “Another missing link in evolution found – yes another one” and merely asks how many that is so far. He does give his approval to the following comment by R. Mansfield who writes:

... The problem is that there’s no way to validate something this old as an ancestor to human. Because it’s a primate and we’re technically primates and because it’s old, lots of guesswork is made to link it to us. But if you look at the actual cranial structure, common sense says it’s an extinct ape.

There is no missing link to humans. Modern science has proved that through recent DNA testing. We have neanderthal bones recent enough to show that this species and humans overlapped. But DNA tests reveal that humans and neanderthals are not related. DNA testing proved that not only did we not “evolve” from them; we also never interbred with them.

The next likely candidate is homo erectus, but these have also been proven not to relate to humans.

Ardi is now being called our ancestor, but there’s nothing to connect her to us other than assumption and speculation. The evidence points to special creation of homosapians sapians, but they continue to look for some other explanation denying what is right in front of their noses.

Um, ok, “common sense” interpretations of photos trumps detailed analysis of the real thing by experts. Right.

~~~~~~~

Matt Dobbs at Kingdom Living (#3 on the list) doesn’t comment on Ardi, but provides what he says is a picture of John the Baptist. Jim West, by the way, is a Baptist. You can see why.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff Oien, the Scripture Zealot, follows the media line and writes that the find means that the “Common understanding of human evolution is reversed”. He includes a photo of one of the scientists, Owen Lovejoy, linked from a Christian Post article (as I’ve done here). Oien writes:

Evolution is a theory that many Christians hold to–some above what Scripture says. Why is this? Evolution is a religion unto itself. The Bible is very clear. God couldn’t have talked with chimps in the garden and they wouldn’t have been embarrassed about being naked.

This is Owen Lovejoy. You can tell he’s really smart because he wears his glasses on top of his head like other scientists do. Or maybe he’s the absent minded professor and puts them there so he won’t forget them. In any case he’s very smart and I don’t doubt his smartness. That’s isn’t everything though.

Well, that certainly settles the matter, doesn’t it? The old argument from glasses on the head added to the standard bullshit line that “evolution is a religion”. Evolution is a religion in the same way that cabbage is the sound of paint fading. And so what if being “smart” isn’t everything. It is hardly all that Prof. Lovejoy has. He has a good education in the relevant sciences and has studied the actual fossils.

Read the Christian Post article, it’s better than Oien’s short blurb, if you can stand accommodationism.

~~~~~~~~~~~

James McGrath (#8) comments on Accepting Darwin’s Theory Without Compromising Faith. He mentions Ardi in passing, writing that it is a pity that it’s  referred to as a “missing link” in some sources since:

Ardi is a link in the chain that interconnects all living things on this planet to those organisms that inhabited it in the past. For each such find there are countless other “missing links” on either side. We are filling in our knowledge of relevant fossils as more discoveries come to light, but as Francisco Ayala has said, there really are no more gaps in our understanding of the interrelatedness of all things, since the study of this subject no longer depends only on fossils. We can now study how all living things on this planet are related, using the same methods that allow us to do paternity and maternity testing.

Ah, someone who makes a bit of sense! Dr. McGrath, you win a non-snarky cartoon! It took me a while to find one that is appropriate. I couldn’t, so you are stuck with this one:

~~~~~~~~~~~

Claude Mariottini (#35) in “Ardi: The New Human Ancestor” contrasts the scientific claim that Ardi undermines the older theory that there was a “mising link” in the evolutionary chain with the Bible that:

teaches us that there was a time when the beast became human and that time was when God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).

If there was evolution, God was involved in the process. Because Christians believe human beings were created in the image and likeness of God, human beings are different than the animals. And honestly, when I look at the recreation of “Ardi” above, I do not see any family resemblance.

No family resemblance? Well, maybe Ardi doesn’t resemble the Mariottinis specifically, but to someone trained in human and ape anatomy, however, the resemblance may be far more readily apparent. And for what it’s worth, the Bible doesn’t describe the pre-breath-of-life humans as “the beast”, either.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain/projects/ejn/

Well, that’s it. Not many in the Top 50, but then bibliobloggers have many other interests than human evolution and palaeontology. It is interesting that the most sensible comments are by James McGrath and the most fun was had by Jim West. And of course, then there is Dr Jim, who, after yet another cartoon interlude, says:

EVOLUTION HAPPENED AND IS HAPPENING AND IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. GET YER HEADS OUT OF YER BIBLES INTO A SCIENCE BOOK!

Maybe Dawkins’ new tome on the evidence for evolution will suffice.

Click the Cover to go to the Promo Page

I bought a copy but I haven’t started reading it yet. According to Chris Heard at Higgaion, Dawkins repeats the asinine claim that the Bible is from the bronze age. I do wish he would do some more reading on biblical scholarship before he writes about the bible but alas.

Perhaps we could make a deal. Biblical folk will learn more about evolution and he can learn more about history.

If people want to believe in evolution and God at the same time, I don’t much care, but I don’t see why anyone needs the latter to make the former work. There are evolutionary explanations for morality and group solidarity, and even evolutionary explanations for belief in gods, spirits and cosmic principles.

What Religious Studies really needs is a lot closer cooperation with the folks looking into human evolution and especially the evolutionary reasons for why religion developed in the first place.

So, lets have some more music!

Edited to add: Brian LePort at Near Emmaus: Christ and Text was feeling shunned because I didn’t include his post, Ardi = Eve. I only went through the first 50 on the list, but jeepers, NECT has way over 100 comments on his post. Jumpin’ Kadiddlieboppers!  Anyway, he hardly takes a literal view on Genesis and adds “I must say though that if Eve looks like Ardi it is a miracle that Adam found her so attractive (see 2:22-23)!”

No argument there.  But then, there’s no telling what Adam looked like…

And besides, when Adam and Eve were being thrown out of the garden, Adam wrote the FIRST COUNTRY SONG EVER! (Hence the fall of humanity…)

Technorati Tags: Ardi, Ardipithicus+ramidus,, human+evolution, evolution, chimpanzee, ape, apeman, human, hominid, biblioblogger, Zwingli, Richard+Dawkins, homo+sapien, homo+erectus, Darwin, missing+link, faith, creation, creationism, accommodationism, God+Delusion, Greatest+Show+on+Earth, science+and+religion

Paléoartistes demandés

(Agence Science-Presse) – Si le paléoanthropologue est celui qui étudie les fossiles humains, que fait un paléoartiste? Il ou elle sculpte ou dessine des Néandertaliens ou des Homo erectus. Et il y a une demande croissante. Il n’y a pas si longtemps pourtant, le nombre de variables inconnues était tel que ces artistes tendaient à représenter leurs sujets «à mi-chemin entre le singe et l’humain», explique Science dans un dossier récent.

Mais depuis 20 ans, l’explosion de fossiles d’hominidés a été telle que les directeurs de musées et de magazines, en plus d’émissions de télé comme National Geographic, exigent beaucoup plus de précisions et de réalisme. Il en résulte même un phénomène inattendu: le travail de ces artistes influence la réflexion des

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anthropologues sur nos ancêtres et leurs comportements. Un autre de ces cas où l’art influence la science…

If the findings mentioned in this article turns out to be true, this puts a whole new spin on human prehistory and migration. Here is the gist of the importance:

The skulls, jawbones and fragments of limb bones suggest that our ancient human ancestors migrated out of Africa far earlier than previously thought and spent a long evolutionary interlude in Eurasia – before moving back into Africa to complete the story of man.

While on the topic of sciences, I may as well put up this: a photo of the structure of a s single molecule.

For generations, scientists have believed Africa was the cradle of mankind.

Now a stunning archaeological discovery suggests our primitive ancestors left Africa to explore the world around 800,000 years earlier than was previously thought before returning to their home continent.

It was there – hundreds of thousands of years later – that they evolved into modern humans and embarked on a second mass migration, researchers say.

Astonishing discovery: Archaeologists have unearthed six ancient skeletons dating back 1.8 million years in the hills of Georgia

Archaeologists have unearthed six ancient skeletons dating back 1.8 million years in the hills of Georgia which threaten to overturn the theory of human evolution.

The Georgian bones  – which include incredibly well preserved skulls and teeth – are the earliest humans ever found outside Africa.

The remains belong to a race of short early humans with small primitive brains who walked and ran like modern people.

They were found alongside stone tools, animal remains and plants – suggesting that they hunted and butchered meat.

Professor David Lordkipanidze with one of the skulls from the Georgia site

Archaeologists now believe that our ancestors left for Europe at least 1.8million years ago, before returning to Africa and developing into Homo Sapiens

Prof David Lordkipanidze, the direct of the Georgian National Museum, said: ‘Before our findings, the prevailing view was that humans came out of Africa almost 1million years ago, that they already had sophisticated stone tools, and that their body anatomy was quite advanced in terms of brain capacity and limb proportions. But what we are finding is quite different’

He said Africa was still the unchallenged cradle of mankind. But he added: ‘Georgia may have been the cradle of the first Europeans.’

Their discovery muddies the already complicated history of mankind.

Archaeologists believe that the first true humans – a race of squat people called Homo habilis – evolved in Africa around 2.5 million years ago. The were followed by a taller athletic species called Homo erectus who migrated out of Africa to colonise Europe and Asia.

Outside Africa their descendents are thought to have died out. But in Africa, they turned into modern man who began a second wave of migration around 120,000 years ago.

The new finds suggest Homo erectus left Africa far earlier than was previously estimated and lived for a while in Eurasia.

Three skulls all found at the Dmanisi site

The new ancestors – found in Dmanisi – were around 150cm tall, and had brains half the size of modern people’s.

‘While the Dmanisi people were almost modern in their body proportions, and were highly efficient walkers and runners, their arms moved in a different way and their brains were tiny compared to ours,’ he told the British Science Festival at Surrey University.

‘Their brain capacity is about 600 cubic centimetres. The prevailing view before this discovery was that the humans who first left Africa had a brain size of about 1,000 cubic centimetres.

‘Nevertheless they were sophisticated tool makers with high social and cognitive skills.’

The first Dmanisi fossils were found in 2001. The most recent has only just been unearthed and its details have yet to be published in a scientific journal.

Prof Lordkipanidze said the Dmanisi bones may have belonged to an early  Homo erectus which lived in Georgia before moving on to the rest of Europe.

Or the early humans may then have returned to Africa, eventually giving rise to our own species, Homoe sapiens, he said.

‘The question is whether Homo erectus orginated in Africa or Eurasia, and if in Eurasia, did we have vice-versa migrations? This idea looked very stupid a few years ago, but not today,’ he told the British Science Festival.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1212060/Ancient-skeletons-discovered-Georgia-threaten-overturn-theory-human-evolution.html?ITO=1490#

From The Times, September 9, 2009

Georgia fossil suggests key stage of human evolution was in Europe

Mark Henderson, Science Editor

A key stage in human evolution may have taken place on the fringes of Europe and not in Africa as has generally been thought, scientists said yesterday.

Fossils of an ancient human relative, or hominin, from Georgia dated from 1.8 million years ago suggest that the first of our ancestors to walk upright could have done so in Eurasia, the British Science Festival was told.

David Lordkipanidze, director of the Georgian National Museum, said the skulls, fossils and limb bones found at Dmanisi in 1999 and 2001 raise the possibility that Homo erectus, a forerunner of modern humans, evolved in Europe or Asia and later spread back to Africa. He also revealed that a fifth well-preserved skull, the most complete yet, had been discovered at the site.

The Dmanisi fossils, which have been identified either as Homo erectus or a new species, Homo georgicus, have already shown ancient hominins began to leave Africa at least 1.8 million years ago, pushing back the accepted date for the first exodus from the cradle of humanity by several hundred thousand years.

This leaves two possible scenarios for a critical phase in evolution, Professor Lordkipanidze said. Either Homo erectus could have evolved in Africa and then spread to Asia and even Europe, or a more primitive relative might have left Africa and evolved into the more upright, advanced species in Eurasia. “We all agree the first appearance of humans was in Africa but when they left and started global colonisation is a debatable issue,” Professor Lordkipanidze said.

“The prevailing view before Dmanisi was that they left about a million years ago, and had sophisticated tools and quite advanced anatomy and brain capacity. What we’re finding is different.

“The story begins in Georgia. It was always thought the Champions’ League of human evolution took place in Africa, and Europe was in the second league.

"What we are finding changes this. The question is whether the origin of Homo erectus is in Africa or Eurasia? This looked quite stupid a few years ago, and if you asked the question people thought you were a little provocative.

“Today it seems not so stupid. There is a possibility Homo erectus originated in Eurasia and it’s not impossible to think they spread back to Africa.” Modern Homo sapiens evolved from this African population much later, about 200,000 years ago, before beginning a second exodus from Africa about 60,000 years ago.

Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the National History Museum in London, said: “There must have been a primary dispersal out of Africa prior to the date of the Dmanisi fossils, which does raise the question of where Homo erectus evolved. There could certainly have been an Asian phase in human evolution, with Homo erectus later spreading back to Africa.”

He added that there were intriguing similarities between the Dmanisi fossils and the more recent hominins recently discovered at Flores in Indonesia — the diminutive species Homo floresiensis and nicknamed “hobbits”. “The possibility exists the primary dispersal gave rise to the Dmanisi fossils and the hobbits,” Professor Stringer said.

How often have you heard the phrases “settled science” or “scientific fact”? They come up a lot in reference to issues like climate change, evolution, and abortion. Always the intention is to show that the currently prevailing scientific theory is correct beyond any doubt, and that anyone who suggests a contrary idea must be a crackpot.

This is contrary to the very nature of science. The success of science as a way of explaining the world around us is precisely due to science’s ability to revise theories in accordance with new evidence. Just as Einstein’s relativity replaced Newtonian physics, new discoveries continue to challenge our existing theories about life, the universe, and everything. Those who arrogantly insist on the infallibility of any scientific theory such as global warming or evolution are doomed to ultimate embarrassment when they turn out to be wrong.

A wonderful example of this comes to us from the science page of the Independent. Hominid skulls found in the Georgian village of Dmanisi are the oldest ever found outside of Africa, and they are challenging the long-held view that humans must have arisen in Africa and spread from there to Eurasia and other continents. This theory was, until recently, virtually universally accepted as fact. To suggest that one of the stages of human development (Homo erectus) evolved in Eurasia, as these fossils seem to suggest, would have been regarded as batty: 

“The question is whether Homo erectus originated in Africa or Eurasia, and if in Eurasia, did we have vice-versa migration? This idea looked very stupid a few years ago, but today it seems not so stupid.”

Ultimately, it may or may not be shown that human ancestors went “back to Africa”. It has little impact for the average person today either way. The point though, is that the out-of-Africa theory is far older, more venerable, and had more evidence behind it than the theory of global warming does. If the former can be called into question by new evidence, the latter certainly can. So the next time that someone tells you global warming is “settled science”, feel free to treat the comment with the disdain it deserves.

A new skull has been found in the country of Georgia that predates Homo-Erectus. The finding is significant since Homo Erectus is believed to be the first human sub-species to emigrate out of Africa 1 million years ago. This newly discovered skull is about 1.3 million years old and its features bear a closer resemblance to Homo-Erectus’ predeccesor, Homo-Habilis which lived 2 million to 1.6 million years ago.  Nonetheless, it does rewrite the history books since it either proves that humans left Africa much earlier then believed, or humans originated in other places besides Africa.

The Bible tells us that God formed the earth and created humans in his image. Based on fossil evidence, Yahweh put humans on the earth over 2 million years ago. Adam and Eve must have been a primitive human species such as Homo Erectus.

So the question is, will there be Homo Erectus humans in heaven? Or did Jesus only die for Homo Sapiens?

The earliest human brain was far too small to understand religious theology. Did God expect them to follow the Ten Commandments, or did they have a more simplistic set of rules and law? Such as, “Thou shalt not drag women by their hair,” or “Thou shalt not hit your neighbor with a big wooden club.” Did they sacrifice small dinosaurs to God to atone for sin, or did lambs exist 2 million years ago?

Whether you believe the earth is 6,000 years old or 4.5 billion years old, you can’t deny the fossil evidence showing various humanoid species that are now extinct. Did God destroy them, or was evolution involved? Please enlighten me with the “truth” found in the Bible.

This is not a sarcastic question. I’m actually curious to hear how Christians answer this. Who knows, maybe one day you and Fred Flintstone will be standing together in paradise.

“Há bilhoes de galáxias no universo observável
E cada uma dessas contém centenas de bilhões de estrelas
Em uma dessas galáxias
Orbitando uma dessas estrelas
Há um pequeno planeta azul
E este planeta é governado por um bando de macacos
Mas esses macacos não pensam em si mesmos como macacos
Eles nem sequer pensam em si mesmos como animais
De fato, eles adoram listar todas as coisas que eles pensam separá-los dos animais
Polegares opositores
Autoconsciência
Eles usam palavras como Homo Erectus e Australopithecus
Você diz to-ma-te eu digo to-ma-ti. Eles são animais, certo?
Eles são macacos
Macacos com tecnologia de fibra óptica digital de alta velocidade
Mas ainda assim macacos
Quero dizer, eles são espertos, você tem que conceder isso
As Pirâmides, os arranha-céus, os jatos, a Grande Muralha da China
Isto tudo é muito impressionante
Para um bando de macacos
Macacos cujos cérebros evoluiram para um tamanho tão ingorvenável
que agora é bastante impossível para eles ficarem felizes por muito tempo
Na verdade, eles são os únicos animais que pensam que deveriam ser felizes
Todos os outros animais podem simplesmente ser
Mas não é tão simples para os macacos
Pois os macacos são almadiçoados com a conscência
E assim os macacos têm medo
Os macacos se preocupam
Os macacos se preocupam com tudo
Mas acima de tudo com o que todos os outros macacos pensam
Porque os macacos querem desesperadamente se encaixar
Com os outros macacos
O que é bem difícil, porque a maior parte dos macacos se odeia
Isto é o que realmente os separa dos outros animais.
Estes macacos odeiam.
Eles odeiam macacos que são diferentes
Macacos de lugares diferentes
Macacos de cores diferentes
Sabe, os macacos se sentem sozinhos
Todos os seis bilhões deles
Alguns dos macacos pagam outros macacos para ouvir seus problemas
Os macacos querem respostas
Os macacos sabem que vão morrer, então os macacos fazem deuses
E os adoram
Então os macacos começam a discutir quem fez o deus melhor
E os macacos ficam irritados, e é quando geralmente os macacos decidem que é uma boa hora de começar a matar uns aos outros
Então os macacos fazem guerras
Os macacos fazem bombas de hidrogênio
Os macacos têm o planeta inteiro preparado para explodir
Os macacos não sabem o que fazer
Alguns dos macacos tocam para uma multidão vendida de outros macacos
Os macacos fazem troféus e então eles os dão a si mesmos
Como se isto significasse algo
Alguns dos macacos acham que sabem de tudo
Alguns dos macacos lêem Nietzsche
Os macacos discutem Nietzsche
Sem dar qualquer consideração ao fato de que Nietzsche
Era só outro macaco
Os macacos fazem planos
Os macacos se apaixonam
Os macacos fazem sexo
E então fazem mais macacos
Os macacos fazem música
E então os macacos dançam
Dancem, macacos, dancem!
Os macacos fazem muito barulho
Os macacos têm tanto potencial, se eles ao menos se dedicassem…
Os macacos raspam o pêlo de seus corpos numa ostensiva negação de sua verdadeira natureza de macaco
Os macacos constrõem gigantes colméias de macacos que eles chamam de “cidades”
Os macacos desenham um monte de linhas imaginárias na Terra
Os macacos estão ficando sem petróleo, que alimenta sua precária civilização
Os macacos estão poluindo e saquenado seu planeta como se não houvesse amanhã
Os macacos gostam de fingir que está tudo bem
Alguns dos macacos realmente acreditam que o universo inteiro foi feito para seu benefício
Como você pode ver, esses são uns macacos atrapalhados
Estes macacos são ao mesmo tempo as mais feias e mais belas criaturas do planeta
E os macacos não querem ser macacos
Eles querem ser outra coisa
Mas não são”

Fonte: Su.