400,000 year old human tooth?
by sabastious 26 Replies latest social current
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Gerard
Without DNA testing it is premature to say the remains are human. However, the tooth may very well turn out to be. We'll hear more in a few months.
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sabastious
from the article:
Teeth are often unreliable indicators of origin, and analyses of skull remains would more definitively identify the species found in the Israeli cave, Mellars said. Gopher, the Israeli archaeologist, said he is confident his team will find skulls and bones as they continue their dig.
-Sab
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BurnTheShips
Researchers: Ancient human remains found in Israel
JERUSALEM –
Israeli archaeologists said Monday they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man, and if so, it could upset theories of the origin of humans.
A Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in central Israel said teeth found in the cave are about 400,000 years old and resemble those of other remains of modern man, known scientifically as Homo sapiens, found in Israel. The earliest Homo sapiens remains found until now are half as old.
"It's very exciting to come to this conclusion," said archaeologist Avi Gopher, whose team examined the teeth with X-rays and CT scans and dated them according to the layers of earth where they were found.
He stressed that further research is needed to solidify the claim. If it does, he says, "this changes the whole picture of evolution."
The accepted scientific theory is that Homo sapiens originated in Africa and migrated out of the continent. Gopher said if the remains are definitively linked to modern human's ancestors, it could mean that modern man in fact originated in what is now Israel.
Sir Paul Mellars, a prehistory expert at Cambridge University, said the study is reputable, and the find is "important" because remains from that critical time period are scarce, but it is premature to say the remains are human.
"Based on the evidence they've cited, it's a very tenuous and frankly rather remote possibility," Mellars said. He said the remains are more likely related to modern man's ancient relatives, the Neanderthals.
According to today's accepted scientific theories, modern humans and Neanderthals stemmed from a common ancestor who lived in Africa about 700,000 years ago. One group of descendants migrated to Europe and developed into Neanderthals, later becoming extinct. Another group stayed in Africa and evolved into Homo sapiens — modern humans.
Teeth are often unreliable indicators of origin, and analyses of skull remains would more definitively identify the species found in the Israeli cave, Mellars said.
Gopher, the Israeli archaeologist, said he is confident his team will find skulls and bones as they continue their dig.
The prehistoric Qesem cave was discovered in 2000, and excavations began in 2004. Researchers Gopher, Ran Barkai and Israel Hershkowitz published their study in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
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I don't think it is 400,000 years old.
If it is, I do not think it is Homo Sapiens, which was still in Africa.
It will be one of the other early humans, like Neanderthals, which remains have already been discovered in the area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebara_Cave
We recently discovered "Denisovans", which apparently have a genetic ancestry to Melanesians.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101222/ap_on_sc/us_sci_human_relative
The "Out of Africa" theory has been modified lately. Homo Sapiens left Africa and interbred with these other humans.
BTS
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sabastious
If it is, I do not think it is Homo Sapiens, which was still in Africa.
So at this point it's just hype, it would seem.
-Sab
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nancy drew
i'm very interested in archeology but the problem is all the different opinions about a certain find. There's always several different scientists all with credentials having their own agendas reaching different conclusions.
It's disturbing to me because i love it when they find stuff its another piece of the puzzle. you have to be careful about what to believe in so many arenas
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sabastious
i'm very interested in archeology but the problem is all the different opinions about a certain find. There's always several different scientists all with credentials having their own agendas reaching different conclusions.
I wouldn't call it their agendas, science is a pretty pure entity. All humans want to "be right" and science offers humanity possible real and tangible explanations for the world around us. Some scientists can lose themselves within the framework, but the scientific community will eat them alive if they are being unscientific.
-Sab
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SacrificialLoon
Duke Leto Atradeis forgot about the tooth.
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snowbird
I'll bet it's about 1/100 of that age.
Fascinating.
Syl
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nancy drew
I loved the first dune book read it back in 1969, the movie was good because jurgen prochnow one of my favorite actors was in it.