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.
OOps!
"hard time" (I wonder if that's Freudian?)
No, they much prefer museums and "Discovery Channel" documentaries, when not lounging around in their fashionable Montana strata. :-)
I admitted you met my challenge of fining one. You did not, however, support your allegation of "often." Of course you and the other much-protesting bunch already know that.
I agree. Your side would be seriously diminished.
Catching Dimensio making an allegation he can't support is fear-induced defense of a religious dogma? I long for the days of an intellectually honest evolutionist like JazzRaptor. These silly sophomoric mischaracterizations from your side are so..... well, childish.
I admitted you met my challenge of fining one. You did not, however, support your allegation of "often." Of course you and the other much-protesting bunch already know that.
No, what we *do* know is that you've now been reduced to weaseling over exactly what rate might be "sufficient" for the broadly subjective word "often".
By Dimensio's standards, and mine, as well as that of other posters on this thread apparently, it happens far *too* often. Ideally, if creationists actually stopped to think (or learn something) before they posted on this topic, it wouldn't happen even once.
Apparently you want to spend all day quibbling over whether *you* might accept the actual frequency of occurrence as something *you* might call "often", and using *that* bit of personal stubbornness as a bizarre excuse to keep digging in your heels on a ridiculously trivial issue you should have ceded or dropped long ago -- or never even bothered to "make a stand" on in the first place. "Mountains out of molehills", thy name is Dataman.
Jeez, man, give it a rest. You're just being beyond silly now.
I thought I heard something...nope. Nothing worth listening to, anyway.
Way off in the distance, somewhere.
It's almost a "whining" sound.
Why did it bother *you* enough to turn it into your Holy Crusade du jour?
I certainly don't mind having you tell me I'm wrong :)
Hard to tell, such sounds almost seem to reach a chorus intensity some days, it's so hard to pick out the individual sound of just one spinning down into the void.
You have constructed an argument without an opponent.
I really don't see how denying the truth that Dimensio demonstrated helps your cause. Are you claiming Christ, as you twist and turn trying to avoid being wrong?
Ichneumon:"... I ... don't think he's worthy of even much passing attention, much less "running from", so it appears that your assessment is mistaken, as usual."
Ichneumon:"As for being like those from whom we descended, you remind me of a relevant quote:" "For my own part I would as soon be descended from that heroic little monkey, who braved his dreaded enemy in order to save the life of his keeper; or from that old baboon, who, descending from the mountains, carried away in triumph his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs -- as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies, offers up bloody sacrifices, practices infanticide without remorse, treats his wives like slaves, knows no decency, and is haunted by the grossest superstitions." -- Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 2nd ed., London: John Murray, 1901, p. 946.
Proving nothing other than the fact that arrogant, self-righteous, moral relativists pretend that there is no way the Creator / Sustainer God could possibly exist since the evidence shows that he doesn't come up to their standards of goodness. [Romans 1:25]
Ichneumon: "Apes in general are more inspiring relatives than many so-called humans. So I wouldn't get too smug if I were you."
"Indeed, the perversity of the impious, who though they struggle furiously are unable to extricate themselves from the FEAR of God ...."
You can run - but you can't hide.
The Onion?
Do you really think this kind of stuff is an effective witness for Christ?
I have to admit, Romans 1:20 does piss a lot of people off.
I think it is more you than the verse in Romans.
Beating someone over the head with the Bible may make you feel better, but I doubt if it is something Jesus would do.
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