Skull of Homo erectus throws story of human evolution into disarray
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131017-skull...
is quite helpful and has interesting graphics.
The BBC story
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24564375
looks to be more helpful than the story kindly submitted here, the CNN story
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/17/world/europe/ancient-skull...
quotes other experts who don't reach the same conclusions, while the Wall Street Journal story
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230438410...
largely quotes scholars who agree with the new announcement from Georgia.
The Bloomberg story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-skulls...
quotes an expert who sums up what the real issue is here:
"The finding likely won't change expert's views on species diversity, where two groups are heavily entrenched said William Harcourt-Smith, an assistant professor at Lehman College and a research associate in the American Museum of Natural History's Division of Paleontology.
"Some, nicknamed 'splitters,' see the tree of evolution as having many species. Others, called 'lumpers,' see wider species categories and fewer limbs on the tree.
"'To be honest it just adds some important fuel to the debate,' Harcourt-Smith wrote in an e-mail. 'The lumpers, of course, will love this new paper, but I can see splitters saying that there is too much variation in both the African early Homo and Dmanisi sample for them to all be Homo erectus.'"
> splitters make very small units – their critics say that if they can tell two animals apart, they place them in different genera … and if they cannot tell them apart, they place them in different species. … Lumpers make large units – their critics say that if a carnivore is neither a dog nor a bear, they call it a cat.
I wonder if that applies here as well.
[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_shape_shifting_dinosaur...
It's the same mistake made with the dinosaurs (see eg http://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_shape_shifting_dinosaur...) assuming that one can tell how an animal grew by analogy and that heterogeneity necessarily shows speciation.
Is this really the first time that differently formed skulls have been found together in an archaeological dig. That's surprising isn't it?
Equally well, just because 5 skulls were found together why does one then have to declare them all to be H.Erectus, presumably there are other methods of categorisation relied on to establish that point?
> "If you found the Dmanisi skulls at isolated sites in Africa, some people would give them different species names. But one population can have all this variation. We are using five or six names, but they could all be from one lineage."
it sounds like it's just a semantic question of how exactly the "species" are divided up logically.
But if you find different morphologies together in the same time and place that is evidence that they were all members of the same species because it is rare to have two different species occupying the same ecological niche.
But it seems there are is a real finding here even if we avoid the word species entirely. Basically it's evidence of morphological diversity within even a very narrow definition of the word species. If you know that bulldogs and Yorkshire terriers are the same species it's a lot easier to argue that your fossil of a great Dane is too, even though it looks very different. That means you don't need millions of years to evolve it. If the diversity is there in the species, selective pressures can make a different looking variety/subspecies quickly.
Modern humans are not that diverse in size. An adult males weigh 50-85kgs. If you find a population of individuals weiging 120ks, you will conclude that these are probably a different species.
Haven't been in the U.S. much, have you? :-(
Or a little less, or a lot more.
> If you find a population of individuals weiging 120ks, you will conclude that these are probably a different species.
Assumign "ks" is supposed to be "kg", it might just be a gathering of NFL players. [1]
[1] http://www.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=merron/041124_r...
"Homo is the genus of great apes that emerged around 2.4m years ago and includes modern humans."
That is not a normal way to describe the ancestry of humans. In between apes and humans were the Australopithecus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australopithecus
The genus homo is usually said to have started with homo habilis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_habilis
Normally one doesn't refer to one genus as being part of another genus.
Also the date "2.4m years ago" is controversial. If homo habilis is reclassified as australopithecus, then the genus homo emerges much more recently than 2.4 million years ago.
This implies that we are apes.
Quoting Wikipedia:
The composition of a genus is determined by a taxonomist. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera.
I'm not sure which part you're taking issue with?
> Normally one doesn't refer to one genus as being part of another genus.
That's right. Australopithecus and Homo are different genera.
> between apes and humans
Not sure what you're saying here. Humans and Australopithecines are both apes.
The locals started smashing large ancient vases and statues they found into small pieces to get paid more.
For fossils in general, there are more of us physically wandering on the surface of the planet, and we collectively are more familiar with what is a fossil, which leads to more discoveries.
As well, due to machinery such as excavators and tunnel diggers, we are digging in places we haven't dug before, either deeper or in hard-to-access rocks.
The big unexplored areas is (1) beneath the deserts, especially the Sahara, and (2) under the shallow seas.
Most Brits would read that as disarray about the timeline of human evolution, not a challenge to the 'story'.
I can answer that one for you. It's shocking. I had no idea, nor do I believe that most Europeans have any idea, just what a strong hold primitive interpretations of religion still holds over a huge percentage of a developed first world society.
This has been coming slowly for 5-10 years. It wouldn't surprise me if tolerance for denial of evolution of humans comes in a few more years.
*edit: clarity, grammar.
As for macro-evolution, there is a mountain of evidence including the genetic similarity, the geographic distribution of animals, the fossil record, etc. "The Greatest Show on Earth" would be a good read as it details many of the proofs of evolution and dismantles the Creationist's pseudo-science.
I don't think you can honestly say that is akin to the questions of the existence of a personal God or of a controlling mind or of [merely] a creative deity.
I was raised and schooled in a religious environment, and no-one believed in creationism. Heck, some of the Jesuit priests were paleontologists. And to give them their credit, irrespective of my beliefs now, the J's were awesome teachers.
Not really. There is no evidence for the actual existence of the (or any) tooth fairy. It could be argued however, that there is evidence of a god or gods specifically because every universe that we know to exist other than our own has creators. The universes created in computer simulations, dreams, imagination etc all have specific creators who are the gods of those universes. Why would our universe be any different from these?
Computer simulations are the interactions between transistors in a CPU, carried by electrons and photons. Dreams are impulses in the neurons of our brains that happen to get stored as memories when we awaken. Our imaginations are also physical processes that take place within our brains. All three of these are on a vastly smaller scale than the universe we inhabit.
Do you have some evidence that the actual universe is any of these things?
As far as evidence goes, there is no tangible evidence (and if the theory is correct, it would probably be impossible to get evidence unless the creator allowed it) but if you have 100 bags and in 99 of those bags there is an egg, it can be reasonable to assume that there is an egg in the 100th bag. That isn't really evidence though especially because that 100th bag is different from the other 99 as it contains them. It could be argued however, that this is is a type of evidence. I'm not sure how exactly but I think someone smarter than me could.
Regarding scale, I don't think that that is such an issue for three reasons:
1) If something is contained in something else, it is reasonable that it's container is larger so just as our universe is on a larger scale than our child universes, our parent universe could be on a larger scale to our own.
2) Only the actors and what they observe need to be simulated (I may be the only actor, maybe it's you) the rest can be approximated. Perhaps this is why it is so difficult for scientists to come up with a unified theory. Maybe macro and micro events within our universe are simulated in different ways and the simulator that runs our universe is inconstant when these two simulations need to be merged.
3) Perhaps it takes the equivalent of years in our parent universe to simulate a second in our universe maybe this very moment is the only one that has been simulated and the past is just the initial state.
edit: The bag/egg analogy isn't great but I am sure that you know what I mean.
God explains creation. There are no competing hypotheses with support (that I can recall just now anyway). I don't mean, big-bang/big-crunch/branes or the like but prime-mover explanations. One might consider perpetual/infinite explanations but they don't avoid the necessary question of how such universes were made. [Subjectively I have as much evidence as I have that the world is real.]
Parents actions explains the tooth fairy, it's considered to be true [appeal to authority] except in a cohort that are known to have been lied to, is agreed on globally [appeal to majority] with a possible infinitesimal opposition. [The science bit:] There are no records of instances that contradict the Parent/Guardian theory and no support has been presented for alternate hypotheses.
I believe the current thinking for the "cause" of the big bang is that there was none. That's not unreasonable given how randomness is inherit to quantum mechanics. Also, before there was matter/space, there was also no time for a cause to occur in. While scientists may not fully understand the big bang yet, I'd feel much better betting on a natural, simple explanation than a "god of the gaps" belief, which has been shattered every time science advances.
If you claim that the cause of the observable universe is a natural phenomenon like quantum mechanics, then it necessarily raises the question "where did the laws of quantum mechanics come from?"
The idea that quantum mechanics simply exist for no reason at all is no more plausible than the idea of a creator.
As for the creator of God, that problem is easily solved with the bible: God is the one who is. He is the only one who always was, and always will be. He is everything and the cause of everything.
genetic similarity: When (if) you code, do you invent a new language for every project you do, or do you use the same toolset for several - if not all - of the things you do? Genetic similarity, as the use of a common genetic code for all known life, can be an argument for a creator. It simply depends on what assumptions you make - and this isn't rationalization any more than the mainstream interpretation is, it simply depends on what lens you use.
geographic distribution: Most of that is just adaptation, with which I have no problem at all. (assuming I understand your argument correctly)
fossil record: There are more "missing links" than there is a chain. We don't even have a nearly complete representation for the evolution that led to a few species known today, and there's even less evidence for the development of the larger features...
Animals on islands are completely unique. That's because they've been cut off from the mainland for millions of years and evolved completely differently. 100% of the mammals native to Australia are marsupials (excluding bats which can fly), and 100% of all marsupials are native to Australia, evolution took a different branch there. Galapagos and Madagascar also have animals that are very different, but they are most similar to the animals closest the island, and those animals are most similar to the animals geographically close to them.
Yes, the fossil record is incomplete (as we should expect), but it completely supports evolution. If you want to disprove evolution, find a single mammal fossil below the Devonean layer. Find a single human fossil that is 10 million+ years old. Why do we see the progression in the fossil record at all? Why are there no vertebrates beyond a certain layer?
Macro-evolution is what happens when micro-evolution has millions of years. They aren't as distinctly different as you seem to think.
Or, because they were cut of from the mainland long ago and didn't spread. No need to invoke evolution here.
Because the world wasn't created at once, but in 6 days. Again, this doesn't disprove anything.
Macro-evolution is nothing but a hypothesis, without any (decisive/exclusive) evidence.
I hope I don't sound sheepish, I'm just short on time... I hope you can address my answers again :)
This leads to all sorts of hypotheses one could make about geology, biology, speciation, etc.
The implementation details aren't necessarily important.
The first 16 billion years could have been emulated and then placed on the live hardware to run after that.
The initial faith has a lot to do with our final outcomes.
Scientists are rather forced to believe in evolution (or some other form of something from nothing). How else could this wonder have happened?
Creationists start with the belief of something from God. This generally tends them to steer in a direction away from thinking evolution is true. Not necessarily though.
Either way, the point is, the creationists don't necessarily worry about implementation and so the young earth ideology shouldn't be tagged with them. That's my take anyways.
Evolution isn't something from nothing in any way, this is a profound misunderstanding.
Your usage of the word "creationism" is at variance with many others' usages.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/
and then to report back to us what you find out.
I'm with you on this. On some level, something caused the universe to exist. The explanations are: a Creator did it; or causality has no meaning outside of existence, so a first cause isn't necessary.
Either of those axioms requires an assumption, and once you make such an assumption, everything else is filtered through that lens.
Two poor examples of an axiom are not "on the same level" as axioms.
>Either of those axioms requires an assumption, and once you make such an assumption, everything else is filtered through that lens.
What assumption does atheism make? None.
From the cosmologists' point of view, it is not clear that the cause of our observable universe need be available to our study within that observable universe. There is no assumption being made; it is simply an unanswered question, about which we are unsure we will ever have a useful answer.
Atheism makes the assumption there is no God (read creator).
Creationism makes the assumption there is a creator.
>There is no assumption being made; it is simply an unanswered question, about which we are unsure we will ever have a useful answer.
Atheism tries to answer the question without the use of a creative being and creationism tries to answer it with the use of a creative being.
There is no difference between the two. Both make assumptions. Both have the possibility of being incorrect.
>Atheism makes the assumption there is no God (read creator).
>Creationism makes the assumption there is a creator.
No. You are using the word "assumption" incorrectly.
In the scientific sense, I am using both the hypothesis that the creator exists and that the hypothesis creator does not exist to interpret the data of the world, comparing the results, and choosing the one as being more logical and likely. I assume nothing, though, being an inherently imperfect being, I recognize I must make some educated guesses to interpret the data before me -- but that is necessary for employing either hypothesis in the real world.
In a subtle sense, one could say that any hypothesis is a "working assumption" or a "tentative assumption". But, no, it is not the same as a just plain "assumption" as found in any dictionary.
It may be true that some people cut this short this process by making assumptions from the get go. But that is not intrinsic to atheism. Arguably, it is not even intrinsic to theism.
No, atheism makes no initial assumptions, and through reason and experimentation comes to the conclusion there is most likely (to a high degree of certainty) no God, at least not as defined by most religions.
Now, your final two sentences...
Both make assumptions. Both have the possibility of being incorrect.
...do not imply the third from last:
There is no difference between the two.
There are many other sorts of differences beyond assumptions and possible incorrectness. From a rational perspective, the evidence supporting one is much more rigorous (i.e. evidence has a higher prior probability and more supporting data to raise posterior probability).
You could assume that if I turn the key in my car's ignition it will start. I could assume that it won't. Both have the possibility of being incorrect. However, one of us has actually tested this, so one of us has better information.
Yes, generally, P and ~P are either both claims subject to empirical investigation, or both claims not subject to empirical investigation. "God exists" and "God does not exists" are not in the class of claims subject to empirical investigation.
That doesn't contradict anything I said (in fact, its barely even relevant to anything I said; Creationism, after all, is not the same thing as the claim that God exists, though it necessarily assumes that claim; to the extent its relevant to what I said, it supports my note that Creationism isn't an empirically falsifiable position.)
> As for being falsifiable, there still isn't any evidence for macro-evolution
Not only is there abundant evidence of macro-evolution, theories about macro-evolution make specific predictions about future observations which are falsifiable. Creationism does not make any falsifiable predictions.
> Evidence of that kind would certainly falsify the predictions of creationism.
No, evidence of macro-evolution (which exists, abundantly) doesn't falsify predictions of Creationism, because Creationism has no predictions to falsify. Evidence of macro-evolution is readily explained within the interpretive framework of Creationism (as is pretty much anything within any interpretive framework which presupposes the existence of an all-powerful supernatural entity.)
That depends very much on your definition of God and on whether you require the empiricism to be [universally] objective or, for example, would consider that a personal experience of your own with God to be evidence on which to base your own belief.
>>Creationism does not make any falsifiable predictions.
Again that depends entirely on the definition of Creationism.
As an aside I find it interesting to speculate as to what might become falsifiable [to some extent or other] in the future. Imagine we make contact with an alien race and they have photos of the Earth showing it was/wasn't ever in any significant flood in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Well, sure, but for any of the usual definitions, the point (with the note below) holds.
> on whether you require the empiricism to be [universally] objective or, for example, would consider that a personal experience of your own with God to be evidence on which to base your own belief.
True, I should have referred to scientific empiricism which includes objectivity (for which "universally" is superfluous).
> Again that depends entirely on the definition of Creationism.
Yes, any claim depends on the definition of the words used in it. Creationism, however, like God, has a fairly well-established meaning for which the statement holds (with the note above.)
> As an aside I find it interesting to speculate as to what might become falsifiable [to some extent or other] in the future. Imagine we make contact with an alien race and they have photos of the Earth showing it was/wasn't ever in any significant flood in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean.
1. We know of significant floods near the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, 2. In terms of Biblical literalism, the claim is of a global flood, not a flood in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, 3. I will note again that any evidence can be rationalized in the context of an interpretive framework that includes an all-powerful supernatural being (of course, "Aliens have an equivalent of Photoshop" doesn't even require invoking an all-powerful or supernatural being.)
I think I come down on the side of those who create new species until sufficient evidence can be found to merge them. It strikes me as better science — a connection is, to my mind, more significant than a lack of a connection.
That is an extant fight in taxonomy, and one which has been going on for more than a century and a half: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumpers_and_splitters
> splitters make very small units – their critics say that if they can tell two animals apart, they place them in different genera … and if they cannot tell them apart, they place them in different species. … Lumpers make large units – their critics say that if a carnivore is neither a dog nor a bear, they call it a cat.
Fundamentally, there is no obvious and unambiguous definition of "species". It is a functional definition that is highly useful, but it is not exactly predictive is every case under the sun. There will always be confusion on the margins, because the natural world is sometimes messy that way.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiometric_dating#Fundamentals...)