Posted on 02/07/2013 4:04:53 PM PST by blam
Researchers Just Dug Up A Half-Million-Year-Old Human Jawbone
Tia Ghose, LiveScience
February, 2013
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An ancient hominin jawbone unearthed in a Serbian cave may be more than half a million years old.
Scientists have unearthed a jawbone from an ancient human ancestor in a cave in Serbia.
The jawbone, which may have come from an ancient Homo erectus or a primitive-looking Neanderthal precursor, is more than 397,000 years old, and possibly more than 525,000 years old. The fossil, described today (Feb. 6) in the journal PLOS ONE, is the oldest hominin fossil found in this region of Europe, and may change the view that Neanderthals, our closest extinct human relatives, evolved throughout Europe around that time.
"It comes from an area where we basically don't have anything that is known and well- published," said study co-author Mirjana Roksandic, a bioarchaeologist from the University of Winnipeg in Canada. "Now we have something to start constructing a picture of what's happening in this part of Europe at that time."
Cave diggers
In 2000, Roksandic and her colleagues began excavating a cave in Balanica, Serbia, that contained ancient archaeological remains. While they were away, rogue diggers secretly dug a deeper pit within the cave, hoping to do their own excavations. Because the site had already been disturbed, the team then decided to probe deeper below the pit's bottom, Roksandic told LiveScience. [In Photos: Our Closest Human Relatives]
About 5.9 inches (15 centimeters) below the surface the team found an ancient jawbone fragment with three molars still intact.
Using several dating techniques, the team determined the fragment was definitely older than 397,000 years and perhaps older than 525,000 years.
The jawbone lacked several characteristic Neanderthal features, including distinctive chewing surfaces on the teeth that show up in Western
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
That is what I get hit with every time my worthless brother-in-law (If you know him he probably owes you money) starts to speak.
Alternate headline: “Helen Thomas’ Dentures Found!”
Thanks blam, ordering that one today.
I believe they were in what we would consider their 30's.
That's my opinion and belief.
What's the difference, both animal and human were created on the same day 6000 years ago.
Perhaps not.
There is an ignorance bias in the number 6000. Recent studies extend the date to 6053 years. There is also some uncertainty in the number of months and days in the last year.
So, now I’m disappointed. A couple other FReepers mentioned her, but no one actually posted the picture.
Well...OK...I’m not *that* disappointed.
If she’s not burned into you mind after one exposure, why risk it? ;)
Interesting . . .
Note: this topic is from 2/07/2013. Thanks blam.
Y5 crown on the teeth?
Every day save one.
This is crucial to understanding Biblical chronology...
;’)
Is that one of Anthony Weiner’s ancestors?
You could find out by asking him to send a picture.
Given the age range 300,000 to 500,000 years ago, I wonder why they haven’t proposed Hidelbergensis. There are a lot of H skulls of that age shown in the Evolution of Man exhibit funded by the Kock brothers at the Smithsonian Institution.
The Neandertal Enigma"Frayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]
by James Shreeve
in local libraries
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