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Ancient human ancestor 'Little Foot' makes public debut
CNN ^ | Updated 8:47 AM ET, Wed December 6, 2017 | By David McKenzie

Posted on 12/06/2017 8:25:42 AM PST by Red Badger

The Little Foot fossilized skeleton could date back 3.67 million years.

============================================================================================

Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN)South Africa's Cradle of Humankind, an expanse of farmland and rolling hills outside Johannesburg, has already unlocked some of the great mysteries of evolution. The unveiling of a near-complete fossil hominid skeleton dating back 3.67 million years will only solidify the importance of the region. "Little Foot" is the oldest fossil hominid skeleton ever found in Southern Africa, the lead scientist examining the discovery said on Wednesday. The fossil skeleton takes its name from the small foot bones discovered by scientist Ron Clarke in 1994 when he was sorting through bones in boxes from the Sterkfontein cave system. Even then, Clarke surmised that the fossilized bones came from an Australopithecus species -- the smallish, ape-like human ancestors that roamed this part of Africa millions of years ago. In 1997 he found more bones in a cupboard at the medical school of the University of the Witwatersrand. The rest of Little Foot was found embedded in the calcified ancient cave in 1997 and the excavation, cleaning, reconstruction, casting and analysis took 20 years. Much of the work was done deep inside the cave system, working away at concrete-like rock called breccia, using air scribes to avoid breaking the fragile and priceless fossil remains.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Education; History; Outdoors; Science
KEYWORDS: australopithecus; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; homonaledi; paleontology; prometheus
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To: SunkenCiv

“The team says that Little Foot is from a second species, Australopithecus prometheus, which was named back in 1948 from fragmentary fossils. . .By placing the fossils at well over 3 million years old, Clarke is bound to reignite a debate about the age of the find, which has been disputed over the years. Some scientists have given it a far more recent place on the human evolutionary tree.”


21 posted on 06/11/2018 6:58:57 AM PDT by Fedora
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To: SunkenCiv
For anyone who takes paleoanthropology seriously there is a wonderful book on the discovery of Homo Naledi and more broadly the history of discoveries in the Sterkfontein cave system.


22 posted on 06/11/2018 8:37:24 AM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: heterosupremacist

Just thinking, that guy’s coat would make a nice ready made gillie suit.


23 posted on 06/11/2018 8:44:17 AM PDT by going hot (happiness is a momma deuce)
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To: heterosupremacist

“I am Not buyin’ what they be sellin’...”

Okay, so how did those fossils become encased in that breccia?

Agnus dei, qui tollis peccata Mundi, miserere nobis.


24 posted on 06/11/2018 10:29:33 AM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: dsc
dsc wrote: “I am Not buyin’ what they be sellin’...” Okay, so how did those fossils become encased in that breccia? I'm not disputing the scientific fact that these fossils exist, but call me skeptical about the dating of said fossils... Agnus dei, qui tollis peccata Mundi, miserere nobis. P.S. the Agnus Dei has long been one of my favorite hymns - I started singing it as soon as I read your reply!
25 posted on 06/11/2018 11:50:27 AM PDT by heterosupremacist (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. - (Thomas Jefferson)
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To: heterosupremacist

I am one of those who don’t think there is any conflict between Catholicism and science that cannot be explained by human error.

Once you swallow the camel—God created the heavens and the earth—getting all wrapped around the axle about exactly how He did it or how long it took Him seems like straining at a gnat.

Maybe we are way off on dating the fossil record. The prospect neither excites nor daunts me. Maybe God created man by a process of successive approximations that took what looks like billions of years to us.

I’ve toyed with the speculation that it wasn’t until the Toba dieback that mankind were ensouled, but there’s nothing to back that up.

My point is that it’s not really something to get all exercised about.


26 posted on 06/11/2018 12:20:34 PM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: dsc
*Maybe we are way off on dating the fossil record. The prospect neither excites nor daunts me. Maybe God created man by a process of successive approximations that took what looks like billions of years to us.* True, God existed before He created the cosmos, and everything in it. God is eternal, He is the one who created time! It is irrelevant, even if the dating is correct; (I'm not exercised about it) I just don't like the idea of scientists being so smug about their predictions... They demand that you take their speculations as facts, so I ain't buying what they are selling. Dominus vobiscum ╬
27 posted on 06/11/2018 12:39:14 PM PDT by heterosupremacist (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. - (Thomas Jefferson)
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To: heterosupremacist

“I just don’t like the idea of scientists being so smug about their predictions.”

Yeah, smugitude is irritating wherever found.

Et cum spiritu tuo. (Do *not* search the Internet for that.)

(I’m not kidding.)


28 posted on 06/11/2018 1:53:03 PM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: Fedora
Thanks Fedora.

29 posted on 06/11/2018 2:36:37 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: Fhios

I’ve been from Tuscon to Tucumcari.


30 posted on 06/11/2018 2:38:52 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: Fhios

"How did he do such fantastic stunts with such little feet?"

31 posted on 06/11/2018 2:40:11 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: SunkenCiv; dfwgator

Wow, why are you guys going over my posts from December? I was hospitalized during that period. I take no responsibility for my posts that december.


32 posted on 06/11/2018 3:07:35 PM PDT by Fhios (Atlas shrugged, Sessions yawned.)
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To: dfwgator

Hahahahaha, no matter the thread or the topic, you NEVER disappoint!


33 posted on 06/13/2018 6:08:33 PM PDT by To Hell With Poverty (Refreshing? Trump makes me feel like I just freebased a York Peppermint Pattie!)
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