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To help resolve this controversy, scientists looked at two complete shoulder blades from the fossil "Selam," an exceptionally well-preserved skeleton of a 3-year-old A. afarensis girl dating back 3.3 million years from Dikika, Ethiopia. The arms and shoulders can yield insights on how well they performed at climbing. (Shown here, Selam's cranium, face and mandible.) CREDIT: Image courtesy of Zeray Alemseged / Dikika Research Project

Early Human Lucy Swung from the Trees

1 posted on 10/29/2012 2:12:45 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: SunkenCiv

Maybe because Lucy *was* an ape.


3 posted on 10/29/2012 2:38:14 PM PDT by sigzero
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To: SunkenCiv

4 posted on 10/29/2012 2:41:10 PM PDT by Bratch
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To: SunkenCiv

7 posted on 10/29/2012 2:46:24 PM PDT by JediJones (Vote NO on Proposition Zero! Tuesday, November 6th!)
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To: SunkenCiv
..the socket for the shoulder joint was pointed upward in both Selam and today's apes, a sign of an active climber. In humans, these sockets face out to the sides.

Now, I thought that evolutionary theory was such that a trait that was beneficial would always overpower, or at least remain neutral to, those traits that were detrimental, or otherwise of negligible benefit. So, even after 3 million years, one might expect that a trait for more powerful shoulders, would be more of a survival imperative than proportionally weaker ones. In point of fact, there are many characteristics of early hominid development that would increase survivability over what the human race has inherited.

8 posted on 10/29/2012 3:02:30 PM PDT by Thommas (The snout of the camel is in the tent..)
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To: SunkenCiv

She’s got some ‘splainin’ to do!


9 posted on 10/29/2012 3:05:24 PM PDT by PlateOfShrimp
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To: SunkenCiv

I spent half of my life before age fifteen in trees. Maybe I’m a throwback?


11 posted on 10/29/2012 3:17:04 PM PDT by darth
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To: SunkenCiv

Lucy is a joke, by a desperate professor, at the end of his tour and funding.
Parts found half a mile and depths apart, yet attributed to same critter, and WaLa! It’s transitional!


16 posted on 10/29/2012 3:41:33 PM PDT by G Larry (Which of Obama's policies do you think I'd support if he were white?)
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To: SunkenCiv

“Lucy”. Anyone know the circumstances of finding the bones called Lucy?


22 posted on 10/29/2012 5:13:44 PM PDT by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Almost nobody believes that this is anything but a monkey. I’m sorry but the partial skeleton is only a monkey and isn’t man’s early relative. That man evolved is clear, but this monkey is not proof of it. It’s simply proof that a vane old man wants glory for a spectacular find which really isn’t. The whole thing is silly.


27 posted on 10/29/2012 11:04:34 PM PDT by maxwellsmart_agent
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