Skull discovery could fill origins gap

Yahoo (Reuters) ^ | Fri Mar 24, 11:02 AM ET

[The_Victor]

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A hominid skull discovered in Ethiopia could fill the gap in the search for the origins of the human race, a scientist said on Friday.

The cranium, found near the city of Gawis, 500 km (300 miles) southeast of the capital Addis Ababa, is estimated to be 200,000 to 500,000 years old.

The skull appeared "to be intermediate between the earlier Homo erectus and the later Homo sapiens," Sileshi Semaw, an Ethiopian research scientist at the Stone Age Institute at Indiana University, told a news conference in Addis Ababa.

It was discovered two months ago in a small gully at the Gawis river drainage basin in Ethiopia's Afar region, southeast of the capital.

Sileshi said significant archaeological collections of stone tools and numerous fossil animals were also found at Gawis.

"(It) opens a window into an intriguing and important period in the development of modern humans," Sileshi said.

Over the last 50 years, Ethiopia has been a hot bed for archaeological discoveries.

Hadar, located near Gawis, is where in 1974 U.S. scientist Donald Johnson found the 3.2 million year old remains of "Lucy," described by scientists as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in the world.

Lucy is Ethiopia's world-acclaimed archaeological find. The discovery of the almost complete hominid skeleton was a landmark in the search for the origins of humanity.

On the shores of what was formerly a lake in 1967, two Homo sapien skulls dating back 195,000 years were unearthed. The discovery pushed back the known date of mankind, suggesting that modern man and his older precursor existed side by side.

Sileshi said while different from a modern human, the braincase, upper face and jaw of the cranium have unmistakeable anatomical evidence that belong to human ancestry.

"The Gawis cranium provides us with the opportunity to look at the face of one of our ancestors," he added.

[VadeRetro]

I may not wait for the configuration board meeting to put that one in.

[Youngblood]

...just like a Whale is not an animal, but a fish.

Just where, or from whom or what, did you learn biology?

[furball4paws]

Sure. In them famous embryology fake pics.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Why Ethiopia?

Because that is where this supposed "missing link" was found.

[CarolinaGuitarman]

"Because that is where this supposed "missing link" was found."

Are you saying that Ethiopians are somehow closer to this *missing link* than other humans?

[Gumlegs]

Actually, Bryan was pretty good on the "whale," "fish," "great fish" distinction.

I give the Great Commoner his due.

[fortheDeclaration]

Whale is not an animal, but a fish. Can you show us the gills on a whale?

Why would a whale need gills to be a fish?

Only in a narrow definition.

In the broad definition, a whale is a fish, since he is in the sea.

Whale: Any of the larger fish-like marine mammals....(Compact Oxford English Dictionary)

By the way, you still haven't gotten around to telling us how many legs a locust has, whether a hare chews its cud, whether bats and birds are the same, and where the evidence for a world-wide flood is.

I guess you haven't been looking to hard.

Since you won't believe what is clearly shown by God's creation,(Ps.19), He is under no obligation to reveal anything else to you.

(Rom.1:20-32)

[Gumlegs]

D'oh!

[CarolinaGuitarman]

" In the broad definition, a whale is a fish, since he is in the sea."

Is a lobster a fish?

" Since you won't believe what is clearly shown by God's creation,(Ps.19), He is under no obligation to reveal anything else to you."

We note your retreat.

[monkapotamus]

"Your world frightens and confuses me! Sometimes the honking horns of your traffic make me want to get out of my BMW.. and run off into the hills, or wherever.. Sometimes when I get a message on my fax machine, I wonder: "Did little demons get inside and type it?" I don't know! My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts. But there is one thing I do know - when a man like my client slips and falls on a sidewalk in front of a public library, then he is entitled to no less than two million in compensatory damages, and two million in punitive damages. Thank you.

[fortheDeclaration]

...just like a Whale is not an animal, but a fish. Just where, or from whom or what, did you learn biology?

See definition by OED.

[VadeRetro]

Why would a whale need gills to be a fish?

To be a fish. She'll also want to pick up some scales, ditch the milk duds, start laying eggs, and stop generating so much body heat.

[VadeRetro]

In the broad definition, a whale is a fish, since he is in the sea.

I must confess that I have been a fish on many occasions but am not now and promise not to do it anymore.

[CarolinaGuitarman]

" See definition by OED."

The OED does not say a whale is a fish.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Nope. My contention is that the physical makeup of humankind has been generally consistent from the day the first man was created. Geographically speaking it is fairly obvious that, since the find was in Ethiopia, it is closer to the people who live there than I am. It might, however, be the skull of the original Gilligan they found; evidence of a three-hour tour gone awry.

[b_sharp]

"The fact is that man can have mammal characteristics but not be an animal, just like a Whale is not an animal, but a fish."

I call 'Loki'

[Coyoteman]

Would you consider such a source (written by an osteologist and paleontologist and forensics man named Bass) as authoritative?

Already posted (from the fifth ed.). See upthread.

Coyote

[Oztrich Boy]

And the existence of the Greek gods was proven when Heinrich Schliemann unearthed Troy

[CarolinaGuitarman]

"My contention is that the physical makeup of humankind has been generally consistent from the day the first man was created. Geographically speaking it is fairly obvious that, since the find was in Ethiopia, it is closer to the people who live there than I am."

Why would that be? The people of Ethiopia are no more or less like this find than you or me.

[King Prout]

The fact is that man can have mammal characteristics but not be an animal, just like a Whale is not an animal, but a fish.

Good LORD... did you post that in jest???

even IF cetaceans (whales, porpoises) were indeed fish instead of mammals... they'd STILL be animals (and chordates), rather than plants, fungi, monerans.

That said, *every* physical characteristic of cetaceans indicates they are mammals, not fish.

you might believe that the Linnean system is "playing with words", but it is interesting that his system is generally supported by modern genetics.

Kingdom - Phylum - Class - Order - Family - Genus - Species

If you are going to dispute them, at least do everyone (yourself included) the courtesy of knowing what they mean, and in what order they are ranked.

*shaking head in stunned amazement*