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Fossil Find Is Missing Link in Human Evolution, Scientists Say
National Geographic News ^ | April 13, 2006 | John Roach

Posted on 04/13/2006 12:18:35 PM PDT by Senator Bedfellow

When the famous skeleton of an early human ancestor known as Lucy was discovered in Africa in the 1970s, scientists asked: Where did she come from?

Now, fossils found in the same region are providing solid answers, researchers have announced.

Lucy is a 3.5-foot-tall (1.1-meter-tall) adult skeleton that belongs to an early human ancestor, or hominid, known as Australopithecus afarensis.

The species lived between 3 million and 3.6 million years ago and is widely considered an ancestor of modern humans.

The new fossils are from the most primitive species of Australopithecus, known as Australopithecus anamensis. The remains date to about 4.1 million years ago, according to Tim White, a biologist at the University of California, Berkeley.

White co-directed the team that discovered the new fossils in Ethiopia (map) in a region of the Afar desert known as the Middle Awash.

The team says the newly discovered fossils are a no-longer-missing link between early and later forms of Australopithecus and to a more primitive hominid known as Ardipithecus.

"What the new discovery does is very nicely fill this gap between the earliest of the Lucy species at 3.6 million years and the older [human ancestor] Ardipithecus ramidus, which is dated at 4.4 million years," White said.

The new fossil find consists mainly of jawbone fragments, upper and lower teeth, and a thigh bone.

The fossils are described in today's issue of the journal Nature.

Found Links

According to White, the discovery supports the hypothesis that Lucy was a direct descendent of Australopithecus anamensis.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ardipithecusramidus; crevo; crevolist
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To: andysandmikesmom
For those of us who believe in the God of the Bible, and also support evolution, we see God as the Creator, but we cannot know how or in what time frame, he carried out his creation...

But for those of us who believe in the God of the Bible and do NOT also support evolution, but actually believe the bible, some of us are confident that God was telling the truth when he said he created man in HIS image...

If one was to believe in evolution as well as God, God then would likely resemble a tadpole...If the bible says that God created modern man in one day, I'll buy that...

181 posted on 04/13/2006 5:21:00 PM PDT by Iscool (You mess with me, you mess with the whole trailer park...)
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To: Coyoteman

Standing ovation...


182 posted on 04/13/2006 5:24:48 PM PDT by js1138 (~()):~)>)
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To: Iscool; andysandmikesmom
But for those of us who believe in the God of the Bible and do NOT also support evolution, but actually believe the bible... [Emphasis added -LC]

Translation: "You are an unbeliever."

183 posted on 04/13/2006 5:28:31 PM PDT by Liberal Classic (No better friend, no worse enemy. Semper Fi.)
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To: Iscool

Well, first let me say, that those who believe in the God of the Bible, and support evolution, actually also believe in the Bible, just as you say you do...

However, different interpretations are always present....you chose one way to interpret what the Bible means, I may chose another, another person will chose another way, and so on...how else to explain so many different Christian religions?...just step into religious discussion on FR, and you will see many and various disagreements about many Biblical things...even so far, as arguing about the meaning of even just words, words, such as 'mother', 'brother', 'sister', 'til', 'day', 'year', and so on...if Christians from various denominations cannot agree even on the meanings of specific words, its easy to see, why Christians from various denominations also disagree on what specific 'passages' mean...much of it all comes down to interpretation...and since interpretations come from man, and no man is perfect, then there will be errors made...you may be wrong, or right, but then again, I may be wrong or right...

I find that your remark, that if one supports evolution and also believes in God, that would make God looking like a tadpole, leads me to believe that your understanding of evolution is incorrect...


184 posted on 04/13/2006 5:33:12 PM PDT by andysandmikesmom
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To: Liberal Classic; Iscool

I got the translation, loud and clear...it was quite obvious...


185 posted on 04/13/2006 5:34:18 PM PDT by andysandmikesmom
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To: ScubieNuc; JCEccles
[ScubieNuc] Pheww, Boy I'm glad that's settled. </sarcasm>

[JEccles] Well, if they say so, it must be so. Who needs science when bald conjecture will snow the peasants just as easily and effectively?

Then I guess post 68 is for you guys, too.

186 posted on 04/13/2006 5:36:11 PM PDT by jennyp (WHAT I'M READING NOW: "The Bitter Wells Dude on the Sweetwater" by Kalbaugh)
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To: conservativefreak
"It's nothing new, the Nebraska Man was once used as evidence for a transitional link."

And the Piltdown man. And probably many more.
187 posted on 04/13/2006 5:42:29 PM PDT by ChessExpert (Islam - a dangerous cult)
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To: jennyp
On average, I tell people I'm 47. :-)

That's my average too, if I average over the last 18 years.

188 posted on 04/13/2006 5:47:27 PM PDT by VadeRetro (I have the updated "Your brain on creationism" on my homepage.)
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To: ChessExpert
And the Piltdown man. And probably many more.

I'm glad to know someone's up on the great frauds of the 1920s. Breaking news in creationist circles?

189 posted on 04/13/2006 5:48:08 PM PDT by Alter Kaker ("Whatever tears one sheds, in the end one always blows one's nose." - Heine)
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To: ChessExpert

Piltdown was exposed as a hoax primarily because it didn't fit the expectations of evolution.

I'm continually amazed that creationists don't claim it is real and the charge of fakery a coverup.

On what grounds would a creationist claim that Piltdown is a hoax?


190 posted on 04/13/2006 5:48:08 PM PDT by js1138 (~()):~)>)
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To: Coyoteman

(Decent questions such as you posed always deserve an answer.)

And thank you for taking the time to give me a thorough, and understandable answer. I appreciate it.


191 posted on 04/13/2006 5:48:38 PM PDT by Conservative Texan Mom (Some people say I'm stubborn, when it's usually just that I'm right.)
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To: ChessExpert
""It's nothing new, the Nebraska Man was once used as evidence for a transitional link."

And the Piltdown man. And probably many more."

*Nebraska Man* had about a 3-4 year lifespan. It was never accepted by most scientists and was soon dropped. It was a mistake, not a fraud.

Piltdown was the only hominid hoax. The hoax was discovered by scientists, and it was not universally accepted by science at any time.

The rest of the hominid evidence is unassailable.
192 posted on 04/13/2006 5:49:37 PM PDT by CarolinaGuitarman ("There is grandeur in this view of life....")
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To: ahayes

Well Thank ya! I like you too!


193 posted on 04/13/2006 5:51:31 PM PDT by Conservative Texan Mom (Some people say I'm stubborn, when it's usually just that I'm right.)
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To: js1138

Don't forget they used that "unreliable" method, radiometric dating to "prove" the jaw and the skull were different ages. Hah!


194 posted on 04/13/2006 5:51:57 PM PDT by VadeRetro (Mineral Man was no troll.)
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To: andysandmikesmom
However, different interpretations are always present....you chose one way to interpret what the Bible means, I may chose another, another person will chose another way, and so on...how else to explain so many different Christian religions?...

I don't believe it's a matter of interpretation...I believe it's a matter of belief...I gave an example...God says he created man in his image...Nothing to interpret...It's a matter of belief...

So if you believe this, how does it connect to evolution???

195 posted on 04/13/2006 5:54:08 PM PDT by Iscool (You mess with me, you mess with the whole trailer park...)
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To: Iscool

".God says he created man in his image...Nothing to interpret..."

Sure there is. Does God have a hairy back and pimples? What does it mean to say we are created in *His image*?


196 posted on 04/13/2006 5:57:43 PM PDT by CarolinaGuitarman ("There is grandeur in this view of life....")
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To: ChessExpert
"It's nothing new, the Nebraska Man was once used as evidence for a transitional link."

And the Piltdown man. And probably many more.
Post 68, please. We evos need your expert guidance.
197 posted on 04/13/2006 5:58:57 PM PDT by jennyp (WHAT I'M READING NOW: "The Bitter Wells Dude on the Sweetwater" by Kalbaugh)
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To: CarolinaGuitarman

This age thing is getting to me. My twenties seem to last about twenty years. Then I turned 30, the next thing I know, I'm thirty five. I'm pretty sure I'll be 45 on my next birthday, and 65 on the birthday that follows. Is it this way for everyone, or am I stuck in a time warp. If so, my kids are in it with me. Just yesterday my son was potty training. Then, he mysteriously turned 12. The day after his birthday he woke up and said, "Hey Mom, in 364 days you're going to have a teenager." And that was nearly 4 months ago! Sigh


198 posted on 04/13/2006 6:00:51 PM PDT by Conservative Texan Mom (Some people say I'm stubborn, when it's usually just that I'm right.)
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To: VadeRetro
[js1138] I'm continually amazed that creationists don't claim it is real and the charge of fakery a coverup.

Hey... there's a GREAT idea for a novel!

199 posted on 04/13/2006 6:01:54 PM PDT by jennyp (WHAT I'M READING NOW: "The Bitter Wells Dude on the Sweetwater" by Kalbaugh)
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To: ChessExpert

You play masters. Rank?


200 posted on 04/13/2006 6:03:37 PM PDT by jec41 (Screaming Eagle)
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