Clipmarks | invictus's Anthropology collection

Egalitarian revolution in the Pleistocene?

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:28:59 GMT

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clipper's remarks:

In humans, a secondary transition from egalitarian societies to hierarchical states took place as the first civilizations were emerging. How can it be understood in terms of the model discussed? One can speculate that technological and cultural advances made the coalition size much less important in controlling the outcome of a conflict than the individuals' ability to directly control and use resources (e.g. weapons, information, food) that strongly influence the outcomes of conflicts.

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

Although anthropologists and evolutionary biologists are still debating this question, a new study, published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, supports the view that the first egalitarian societies may have appeared tens of thousands of years before the French Revolution, Marx, and Lenin. These societies emerged rapidly through intense power struggle and their origin had dramatic implications for humanity. In many mammals living in groups, including hyenas, meerkats, and dolphins, group members form coalitions and alliances that allow them to increase their dominance status and their access to mates and other resources. Alliances are especially common in great apes, some of whom have very intense social life, where they are constantly engaged in a political maneuvering as vividly described in Frans de Waal's "Chimpanzee politics".

Tags: anthropology, humans, egalitarian, community, sociology, prehistory, science

Little arrow that rewrites history books

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:25:15 GMT

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Clip Source: www.pretorianews.co.za

Two researchers from Wits University believe that what they have discovered is a 60 000-year-old arrow that was fired from the earliest known bow. Their discovery has pushed back the origins of bow-and-arrow technology by 20 000 years.

The bow, probably made of wood and long since decayed, was used at a time when Neanderthals in Europe were using large spears in duels with woolly mammoths and other large prehistoric game.

The bone arrow, just 5cm long, was excavated by Wadley at the Sibudu cave, near the coastal town of Ballito in KwaZulu Natal, two years ago.

It's mystery who the people were who fashioned the arrow.

Also at this time, humankind was leaving an ever-increasing archaeological record of the first inklings of modern human behaviour. They were burying the dead, using coloured pigments and wearing jewellery.

"This at a time a few thousand years before they walked out of Africa, to become the ancestors of all humans," said Backwell.

Tags: archaeology, anthropology, south africa, prehistory, arrow, science

Out of Africa, Not Once But Twice

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:36:14 GMT

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Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Modern humans are known to have left Africa in a wave of migration around 50,000 years ago, but another, smaller group -- possibly a different subspecies -- left the continent 50,000 years earlier, suggests a new study.

While all humans today are related to the second "out of Africa" group, it's likely that some populations native to Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia retain genetic vestiges of the earlier migrants, according to the paper's author, Michael Schillaci.

Schillaci, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Toronto, also found the earlier group of emigrants had some genetic similarity to Neanderthals, a hominid that left Africa much earlier, settling in Europe and parts of western and central Asia.

Tags: anthropology, humans, migration, africa, neanderthal, prehistory, science

Human ancestors more primitive than once thought

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 03:33:49 GMT

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Clip Source: www.physorg.com

A team of researchers, including Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has determined through analysis of the earliest known hominid fossils outside of Africa, recently discovered in Dmanisi, Georgia, the former Soviet republic, that the first human ancestors to inhabit Eurasia were more primitive than previously thought.

The fossils, dated to 1.8 million years old, show some modern aspects of lower limb morphology, such as long legs and an arched foot, but retain some primitive aspects of morphology in the shoulder and foot. The species had a small stature and brain size more similar to earlier species found in Africa.

The findings, published Sept. 20 in the journal Nature, are a marked step in learning more about the first human ancestors to migrate from Africa.

Tags: anthropology, humans, evolution, science

Is Monogamy Natural?

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:45:12 GMT

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clipper's remarks:

"Lots of animals," Quirk says, "have the 'marriage' instinct: penguins, parrots, swans, gibbons, seahorses, humans. ... What do all these animals have in common? Long childhoods. Who has the longest childhood in the animal kingdom? Humans."

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Is Monogamy Natural?

Vaunted in the mainstream media, two new reports from the Pew Research Center report and the National Survey of Families and Households indicate that couples become bored and unhappy sooner than was previously thought: more like three years into their togetherness than seven.

For species whose slow-growing offspring statistically stand better chances of survival with two parents providing double-sustenance, double-vigilance, double-protection and double-support, monogamy makes scientific sense. But because it's so difficult "to live in the same nest for fifteen years," as Quirk puts it, "love is an instinct coded into our genes."

Fool yourself all you want about free will.

"We inherited the desire to fall in love," Quirk insists, because that soul-baring, die-for-you devotion helped our ancestors "raise babies on the dangerous Pleistocene savanna."

Tags: anthropology, genetics, humans, marriage, monogamy, instincts

Neanderthal Genome Map Possible

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:28:49 GMT

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Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Study: Neanderthal Genome Map Possible

Researchers studying Neanderthal DNA say it should be possible to construct a complete genome of the ancient hominid despite the degradation of the DNA over time.

There is also hope for reconstructing the genome of the mammoth and cave bear, according to a research team led by Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

Their findings are published in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Tags: archaeology, anthropology, genetics, neanderthal, science

Food and drink: What it says about us

Wed, 16 May 2007 19:33:42 GMT

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Clip Source: www.physorg.com

What did the Vikings eat for supper? How good were the grocers in Roman Pompeii? What was it like feasting with the Greeks in the second millennium BC? How can this tell us why we like TV dinners today?

Although the eating and drinking habits of the ancient world may appear at first to have been very different to ours this conference will illustrate the many similarities — particularly in our cultural behaviour, agriculture, trade patterns, architecture and domestic contexts.

Researchers at the University say there is a lot that the study of food and drink in archaeology can tell us and it isn't just about what they ate in the ancient world. It is about how they ate, what they hunted and the production of food. It can also be used to date archaeological sites by carbon remains, pottery fragments and associated architecture.

Tags: archaeology, ancient world, anthropology, food, agriculture

Language might have evolved from gestures

Mon, 07 May 2007 17:58:52 GMT

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Clip Source: www.stonepages.com

Language might have evolved from gestures

Researchers speculate about how prehuman species developed the capacity for complex language. One theory suggests that humans' apelike ancestors first communicated through gestures. Once the neural circuits for gesture-based language had evolved, those same brain areas could have switched over to verbal communication. Indeed, research has shown that modern apes use the same area of the brain to interpret hand signals as humans use to process spoken language.

Working at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Frans B.M. de Waal and Amy S. Pollick observed communications among 34 captive chimpanzees and among 13 captive bonobos, also known as pygmy chimpanzees. The researchers logged every hand gesture, facial expression, and vocal cry that one animal directed at another. They also noted the social context—playing, grooming, fighting, having sex, eating, and so on—in which each signal occurred.

Tags: anthropology, evolution, human brain, language, humans

Climate changes caused the Neanderthal extinction?

Mon, 07 May 2007 18:03:31 GMT

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Clip Source: www.stonepages.com

Climate – and not modern humans – was the cause of the Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula. Such is the conclusion of the University of Granada research group RNM 179, headed by professor Miguel Ortega Huertas. Together with other scientists from the Gibraltar Museum, Stanford University and the Japan Marine Science & Technology Center (JAMSTEC), the Spanish scientists published their innovative work in the scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

The conclusions point out that Neanderthal populations did suffer fluctuations related to climate changes before the first Homo Sapiens arrived in the Iberian Peninsula. Cold, arid and highly variable climate was the least favourable weather for Neanderthals and 24,000 years ago they had to face the worst weather conditions in the last 250,000 years.

Tags: climate change, neanderthals, extinction, anthropology, science

Exploring the Vedic perspective to human antiquity

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:09:25 GMT

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clipper's remarks: Author of the controversial "Forbidden Archaeology", brings a very unusual approach to human origins and evolution which still sparks fires in the scientific world. Michael Cremo's "spiritual" analysis that based on the Vedic lore does not sound very "scientific" of course; but interesting anyway.

Clip Source: www.thehindu.com

Exploring the Vedic perspective to human antiquity

Michael Cremo

Michael Cremo claims to have unearthed archaeological evidence to prove that humans have existed on this planet for millions of years, Mr. Cremo has come up with an alternative theory of evolution that is being debated fiercely in scientific circles. The radical hypothesis ignited a discussion within the world of science about anomalous evidence for extreme human antiquity. Mr. Cremo's attempt to link his findings with the Vedic perspective on human origins is now at the centre of a furious row in the academic community.

Talking to The Hindu , Mr. Cremo, who is in the city as part of a lecture tour, said his evidence was based on fossils and artefacts unearthed by archaeologists in California, Mexico and several places in Asia and Africa during the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries. "Modern dating techniques have proved that many of these discoveries are millions of years old. Though well documented, they have been confined to the inner recesses of museums, libraries and universities."

Tags: michael cremo, forbidden archaeology, vedic culture, humanities, anthropology, evolution, unorthodox theories, science, mysticism, puranas, vedas, indian lore, ancient india

Early humans followed the coast

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 22:55:16 GMT

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clipper's remarks:

Shifting sea levels since the last Ice Age, combined with coastal erosion, would have erased many traces of a maritime past, Professor Erlandson explained.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Early humans followed the coast

Coastlines were rich in resources for early humans

Learning how to live off the sea may have played a key role in the expansion of early humans around the globe.

After leaving Africa, human groups probably followed coastal routes to the Americas and South-East Asia.

Professor Jon Erlandson says the maritime capabilities of ancient humans have been greatly underestimated.

He has found evidence that early peoples in California pursued a sophisticated seafaring lifestyle 10,000 years ago.

Tags: anthropology, humans, civilization, seafare, history, science

Extracting Neanderthal DNA sample

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 04:45:13 GMT

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Clip Source: news.scotsman.com

Scientists bid to take Neanderthal DNA sample

SCIENTISTS are attempting to extract DNA for the first time from the fossilised bones thought to be of a Neanderthal man who roamed Britain 35,000 years ago.

Experts plan to use a tooth from an upper jaw to establish whether the closest relative of modern humans lived on the British Isles later than it was once thought.

The director of the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) project said: "Neanderthal DNA is very distinct and would show up clearly in tests. It is a critical test as this could be the first late Neanderthal fossil on mainline Britain.

"But it is also historic if there is modern human DNA as this would prove they were here earlier than previously thought.

"Neanderthals are so close to us in time, living 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, and a closely related species. We have lots of Neanderthal tools but no fossils. The team is excited about the tests, but we need a bit of luck as the DNA may not have survived."

Tags: neanderthals, anthropology, dna, britain

Ancient Texts Library

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:48:12 GMT

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clipper's remarks: You can find the Gilgamesh Epic, Enuma Elish, Sephir Yetzirah, Book of Dead, Celtic texts, Plato's dialogues or Rubaiyat of Omar Hayyam here.

Clip Source: www.ancienttexts.org

Library contents by culture, country, or religion

An almost complete index is here.

African
Buddhist
Celtic
Mary Jones
Celtic Literature Collective

English

Irish
Manx
Scottish
Welsh
Chinese
Christian
Egyptian
Ethiopian
Gnostic
Greek
Indian
Indian

Indonesian
Irish
Japanese
Jewish
Mesopotamian
The Latin Library
Scandinavian
Swedish

Norwegian

Finnish

Danish
Persian
Roman
Russian

Tags: ancient texts, mythology, culture, religion

Colourful beginning for humanity

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 00:33:08 GMT

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clipper's remarks:

"Colour symbolism is an abstraction and we cannot work this abstraction without language; so this is a proxy for trying to find in the archaeological record real echoes for the emergence of language," Dr Barham told the British Association's Science Festival.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Colourful beginning for humanity

This ochre has a groove where the powder has been rubbed out

Evidence is emerging from Africa that colours were being used in a symbolic way perhaps 200,000 years ago, a UK scientist working in the region claims.

Lawrence Barham has been studying tools and other artefacts left by ancient humans at a site in Zambia.

He says the range of mineral pigments, or ochres, found there hints at the use of paint, perhaps to mark the body.

If correct, it would push back the earliest known example of abstract thinking by at least 100,000 years.

Being able to conceptualise - the ability to let one thing represent another - was a giant leap in human evolution.

It was the mental activity that would eventually permit the development of sophisticated language and maths.

Tags: color symbolism, prehistory, anthropology, africa, abstract thinking, archaeology, human evolution

Neanderthals: Still in Our Genes?

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 00:50:28 GMT

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Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Neanderthals: Still in Our Genes?

Aug. 22, 2006 — Individuals of European descent may be 5 percent Neanderthal, while West Africans could be related to an archaic human population, according to a recent study of genes of people from Yoruba and individuals living in Utah with ancestry from Northern and Western Europe.

Since both groups spread, the find suggests we all have a bit of archaic DNA in our genes. This counters the view that modern humans left Africa and replaced all other existing hominid populations.

"Instead of a population that left Africa 100,000 years ago and replaced all other archaic human groups, we propose that this population interacted with another population that had been in Europe for much longer, maybe 400,000 years," co-author Vincent Plagnol told Discovery News.

Tags: anthropology, neanderthals, archaic humans, genetics, science