Posted on 11/03/2010 5:02:12 PM PDT by Cardhu
They are rarely held up as examples of refined, gentle behaviour.
Now scientists have found evidence that cavemen really were the violent and competitive knuckleheads depicted in movies and cartoons.
A study of fossilised remains suggests that our ancient ancestors had far higher levels of the male sex hormone testosterone than people living today.
If the findings are confirmed, it means they were more aggressive and promiscuous than modern men - and that tens of thousands of years of evolution have had a civilising influence on the human race.
The study was carried out by British and Canadian scientists who worked out the testosterone levels of extinct apes and ancestors by looking at the length of fossilised finger bones.
Past studies have shown that exposure to testosterone in the womb can make humans and apes more aggressive and more promiscuous.
The same hormones also alter the way babies develop physically in the womb.
Boys exposed to high levels tend to have a longer ring finger relative to their index finger, while in males exposed to lower levels, the two fingers tend to be a similar length.
The scientists worked out the ratio of the two finger lengths for a range of ancient hominins - or ancient members of the family tree - including four Neanderthals and an early modern human from 70,000 years ago.
They also studied the finger lengths of an ape-like ancestor called Australopithecus afarensis which lived three million years ago and an even older species called Ardipithecus ramidus from 4.4 million years ago.
Although the researchers only looked at a handful of specimens, the findings suggest that Neanderthals and early humans were more testosterone fuelled than modern men.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
It means that you haven't been standing up straight, and your hormones have sloshed to one side.
GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out.
Today we have football to soak up the excess testosterone
Well, that explains a lot. Thanks.
This article is the first I’ve seen the finger length being a male phenomenon. I’m quite sure the studies have shown it to hold with men and women. Higher testosterone women tend to be stronger in math, whereas it is the opposite in men: physicists and mathematicians tend to be relatively low in the hormone.
There are those still walking today who's life goal is to "smash monogamy".
that would explain my lack of math skills!! i dont have long fingers but my ring finger is over half an inch longer than my index finger...
We are serial monogomists, sorry to say, man, not even biblical man was intended to be true monogomists, hence the rules such as “if your brother dies you must make his wife yours” it protects your brother’s off-spring from infanticied above all else. the same as marriage laws, has very little to do with protecting the adults in the arrangement, it has to do with the welfare of the child and protecting the ascendancy of the male’s off-spring.
Oh, no! That’s supposed to be the ratio that correlates with math ability. (And that’s a pretty extreme difference!)
Garbage
In
Garbage
Out
This study obviously didn’t include the Italian Primal Minister.
Dang. I'm guilty -- by about 1/2 inch. I guess I now have an excuse to go out and act like a jerk.
Italy should change the name of the job, really. Not just because of Berlusconi, either.
A nurse I used to work with said that she learned the finger/hand method of figuring out the size of catheter to use, that it works every time. :’)
Well, maybe not every time.
You see, being a medium size guy, I have rather small hands and fingers, however, ...(here he shrugs modestly and draws a curtain over further discussion lest he be accused of bragging)
Hey, what about women? My ring finger is longer than my index finger. Does that explain why I am a more aggressive, political activist, sex loving senior citizeness?
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