Posted on 11/03/2008 2:14:18 PM PST by SunkenCiv
The Cologne archaeologist Dr. Ralf Vogelsang from the Africa Research Centre of the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology and a team of international researchers have succeeded in dating layers in South Africa that provide information about stone tool innovation on the Middle Stone Age.
This archaeological epoch began at the same time as the earliest appearances of humans (homo sapiens sapiens), about 200,000 years ago, in Africa and differs from the European Middle Stone Age chronologically. It is categorized as an era of change and marked by the development of regional stone tool traditions, the appearance of many innovations and the emergence of significant new behaviour such as the production of art and jewellery...
With the help of the OSL method (Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating) and under the direction of Dr. Zenobia Jacobs and Professor Richard Roberts from University of Wollongong (Australia), scientists have been able to date layers from new sites at the stone tool industries of Still bay and Howieson’s Poort. The OSL method measured when grains of quartz were last irradiated by sunlight at these sites.
According to the results, both industries operated between 60,000 and 80,000 years ago, were short-lived and did not coexist. The reasons for the rise and fall of these two cultural groups has been unclear until now, however, climate change does not seem to have played a significant role.
Interestingly, the dispersion of modern man from Africa, which ultimately resulted in the in the supersession and extinction of the Neanderthals in Europe, occurred at the same time.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
The Neandertal EnigmaFrayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]
by James Shreeve
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My theory, FWIW, on what happened to the Neandertals: we ate ‘em (*urp*).
You can accomplish this same effect with some black lighting and a couple hits of Ecstasy.
Perhaps the good Dr. should pay a visit to South Chicago ?
Wouldn't that be somewhere around the middle of last week?
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