First of all “experts” appear to disagree on the humanity of the previous inhabitant of the skull.
” Have you never seen experts reconstruct the face of a murder victim from just a skull?”
Yes I have. The sketch artists all begin with the assumption that the skull is human. From that they can sometimes re-create an image that may or may not look like the original. But we can be sure that the artists will end up drawing a human face.
” I have no difficulty understanding just how much a skull can tell us, how much it's age will tell us about the hominid family tree, and what it reveals about the prehistory of our world. If I studied to become an expert (as I am on other subjects), I am sure it would tell me even more than what is intuitively obvious and so I am predisposed to value the opinion of such experts.”
As someone who is not committed to evolution, I can take a more dispassionate approach to this find. First, I have to be persuaded that the skull is human as opposed to ape. Second, if human, I would have to be shown that this represents an evolutionary link. Third, I would like to see more than a single example of this link. Even you would not claim that evolution of a species went through single individuals.
For people who haven an emotional attachment to evolution, singularities may not be a problem. For me, they are.
Good night.
Given its age, it is almost certainly neither. Whether it's a precursor to humans or apes, both, or neither is unknown.
Second, if human, I would have to be shown that this represents an evolutionary link.
See above. However, it certainly represents a link between its ancestors and its descendents or, at worst, a sample from the population of its species at the time - which is one more sample than we had last year.
Third, I would like to see more than a single example of this link.
Well, wouldn't we all - the more samples we have, the more clear the story will be. And isn't that why these people are out in the desert looking for such finds?
Even you would not claim that evolution of a species went through single individuals.
Other than that all populations are made up of individuals who live and breed and die.
For people who haven an emotional attachment to evolution, singularities may not be a problem. For me, they are.
I know of no one with an "emotional attachment" to evolution, unless you consider the "Morton's Demon" crowd. As for singularities, that's all the more reason to look for more samples.