Fossil Hints At Primate Origins (Out-Of-Asia?)

BBC ^ | 10-29-2003 | PNAS

[blam]

Fossil hints at primate origins

The bone is just over a centimetre long

An ankle bone discovered in central Burma could be evidence of an ancient ancestor common to many of today's primates, including humans.

The 45-million-year-old fossil has features that link it to all of the anthropoids, the grouping of human-like species such as apes and monkeys.

If correct, this would tie their line of evolutionary descent to Asia and not Africa as some have suggested.

The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The PNAS journal presents a paper on the discovery by Laurent Marivaux, of the University of Montpellier II, and colleagues.

Human evolution

They say the way the left tarsal bone might have moved in the joint would have been typical of known, early anthropoids, which clambered about in trees.

They even speculate that the remains may have belonged to an anthropoid species known as Amphipithecus, a large, ape-like animal.

The implication of the team's research is that humans' primate ancestor may have had Asian origins.

The PNAS report suggests the Burma descendents would have moved into what is Africa before evolving into the various human species that then spread back out across the globe in the last few hundred thousand years.

[blam]

The "Out-Of-Africa" folks aren't gonna like this.

[blam]

Ping.

[John Beresford Tipton]

"The bone is just over a centimetre long"

What's this?
Another article about Slick Willie's, willie?

[keithtoo]

What a bunch of crap "The bone is just over a centimetre long"

Like their isn't an anomolous bone in existence in a currently living human or primate that looks exactly like this.

One bone and the Evol-Doers start sprouting theories about the last million years.

Its like little kids making up stories.

[farmfriend]

Almost did the wrong list again.

Gods, Graves, Glyphs
List for articles regarding early civilizations , life of all forms, - dinosaurs - etc.

Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this ping list.

For real time political chat - Radio Free Republic chat room

[SirChas]

The 45-million-year-old fossil has features that link it to all of the anthropoids, the grouping of human-like species such as apes and monkeys.

[Jeff Chandler]

Hey, anyone who doubts that man descended from apes has never been to one of my family reunions.

[Jeff Chandler]

And Happy Halloween to you too.

[keithtoo]

Yes, a 12-pack or a few bottles of Boone's Farm have been known to cause primate-reversion syndrome in humans.

It even happened to me once.....so I'm told.

[balrog666]

Make your own joke ping.

[Right Wing Professor]

There's no excuse for that. We still have 2 days to go before Halloween.

[almcbean]

Agreed. Count the waffle words-could be, may have, suggests, if correct...would be, they say ...might,they ...speculate...may. How can you call this a science?

[Junior]

Add me to the GGG ping list, please.

[farmfriend]

Consider yourself added. If you ever change your mind, just let me know.

[RadioAstronomer]

Add me to the GGG too. :-)

[farmfriend]

Will do.

[shamusotoole]

For discussion's sake, we still have to account for the fact that Asians and Europeans have similar DNA and are both quite different from African DNA. This has been taken to mean that African ancestors struck out long ago and populated both Europe and Asia with a very small gene pool.

Can some one theorize (you, perhaps, blam or some one else) a scenario that would take these new facts into account? (assuming they are correctly being interpreted)

I agree. The "Out of Africa" theorists need to address this.

[keithtoo]

Yup, that there's some kinda-sorta-in-a-round-about-way almost good quasi-science they're doing to come up with this story.

[Question_Assumptions]

I just wish that people would worry more about the evidence and treat this less like a baseball or football game with a "home team". The Africa, Asia, or Europe of 45 million years ago is not the Africa, Asia, or Europe of today.

[Question_Assumptions]

That's where computer recreations in documentaries get really dangerous. There are all sorts of science shows that now depict realistic lookin dinosaurs in living color and exhibiting all sorts of interesting behaviors but the reality is often that this "reconstruction" comes from a handful of bones from a single specimen. I'm all for speculation but a lot of people see these shows and think that scientists are more certain about things than they really are.