Posted on 02/19/2005 7:36:30 AM PST by Woodworker
Panel says professor of human origins made up data, plagiarized works
A flamboyant anthropology professor, whose work had been cited as evidence Neanderthal man once lived in Northern Europe, has resigned after a German university panel ruled he fabricated data and plagiarized the works of his colleagues. Reiner Protsch von Zieten, a Frankfurt university panel ruled, lied about the age of human skulls, dating them tens of thousands of years old, even though they were much younger, reports Deutsche Welle. "The commission finds that Prof. Protsch has forged and manipulated scientific facts over the past 30 years," the university said of the widely recognized expert in carbon data in a prepared statement.
Protsch's work first came under suspicion last year during a routine investigation of German prehistoric remains by two other anthropologists. "We had decided to subject many of these finds to modern techniques to check their authenticity so we sent them to Oxford [University] for testing," one of the researchers told The Sunday Telegraph. "It was a routine examination and in no way an attempt to discredit Prof. von Zieten." In their report, they called Protsch's 30 years of work a "dating disaster."
Among their findings was an age of only 3,300 years for the female "Bischof-Speyer" skeleton, found with unusually good teeth in Northern Germany, that Protsch dated to 21,300 years. Another dating error was identified for a skull found near Paderborn, Germany, that Protsch dated at 27,400 years old. It was believed to be the oldest human remain found in the region until the Oxford investigations indicated it belonged to an elderly man who died in 1750. The Herne anthropological museum, which owned the Paderborn skull, did its own tests following the unsettling results. "We had the skull cut open and it still smelt," said the museum's director. "We are naturally very disappointed."
Protsch, known for his love of Cuban cigars and Porsches, did not comment on the commission's findings, but in January he told the Frankfurter Neue Presse, "This was a court of inquisition. They don't have a single piece of hard evidence against me." The fallout from Protsch's false dating of northern European bone finds is only beginning.
Chris Stringer, a Stone Age specialist and head of human origins at London's Natural History Museum, said: "What was considered a major piece of evidence showing that the Neanderthals once lived in northern Europe has fallen by the wayside. We are having to rewrite prehistory." "Anthropology now has to revise its picture of modern man between 40,000 and 10,000 B.C.," added Thomas Terberger, an archaeologist at the University of Greifswald. Frankfurt University's president, Rudolf Steinberg, apologized for the university's failure to curb Protsch's misconduct for decades. "A lot of people looked the other way," he said.
Been THERE!!
Both electric and phone...
(Just too lazy to do it, rather than lack of funds.)
Sure does, now that you point it out!
You raise the dead, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and I'll consider YOU omniscient too!
WHEN you acquired this power would be moot.
You'd be wrong to. Omniscience is not necessary for any of those things. In fact modern medicine does a pretty good job of the last 2. We're working on number one. ;)
Anyway I was not contending that Jesus was or wasn't omniscient. I was merely contending that I could imagine a Christian believing that Jesus the man wasn't omniscient.
OH what?
You mean that YOU'LL need more 'proof' than that; right?
It don't get much MORE clear than that, but, you are in good company:
My mother in law is very ape like.
CREATION was NOT finished until GOD rested: the seventh 'day'.
Sorry, I still don't see a clear statement of Jesus the man's omniscience there. Just because you believe that He was omniscient it doesn't follow that that is true, even if the bible is inerrant, unless you can find a literal statement of that fact.
Just because Jesus was omniscient, doesn't mean He would have to use His omniscience while on Earth or at least not constantly. How can you be omnipotent if you can't shut something off when you want to?
Oh..
....I don't know you were an ID'er
Oh... (try again)
....I didn't know you were an ID'er
(Don't let your WIFE see this!!!!)
I didn't say DNA was designed by anything intelligent.
A spider web is designed, by I don't credit the spider with much more intelligence than some of our fanatic creationist posters.
What I am saying is that AFAICS you are just making up something that isn't in the text. It may or may not be standard doctrine. I don't know. But I thought you guys were keen on the literal words.
Brazen dishonesty on your part, Dataman. Just brazen. <shaking head>
This goes beyond fear-induced rigid defense of a religious dogma, IMO.
Of course I've seen that one and I'll be glad to use it when I want to sound like Spongebob Squarepants. But I need more than one snicker in my quiver.
The key word, jennyp, is "fear".
i have a hard understanding what it is like to be in constant fear.
Define your terms, please...
Many of the athiests on this thread might not agree that religion is a survival adaptation--and Bill Maher thinks that Christianity is a neurological disorder. (BTW, why didn't he say that about Islam after 9-11, instead of praising the 'courage' of M. Atta and his cohorts for committing exotic murder/suicide?)
And many Christians would suggest that
a) Christianity is not useful merely for survival, as St. Paul lamented -- "If for this life only we have trusted in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied."
b) Christianity is not merely a social adaptation, but purports to give in some measure--even if only "through a glass darkly"--real information about God and the reciprocal relations of God and Man.
Cheers!
OOps!
"hard time" (wonder if that's Freudian?)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.