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Spliff · Sep 21, 2006, 03:23 AM

From the NY Times: Little Girl, 3 Million Years Old, Offers New Hints on Evolution

This is an awesome discovery announced today in the journal Nature. Highlights from the article:

Estimated to be about 3 years old at death, probably female and a member of the Australopithecus afarensis species, the same as Lucy’s.
The lower limbs supported earlier findings that afarensis walked upright, like modern humans. But gorillalike arms and shoulders suggested that it possibly retained an ancestral ability to climb and swing through the trees.
The largely intact condition of the fossils indicated that the child was presumably buried in sand and rocks shortly after death during a flood in a desert region known today as Dikika, in northeastern Ethiopia.
On a steep hillside, one of the men, Tilahun Gebreselassie of the Ethiopia Ministry of Culture and Tourism, was the first to see the child’s tiny face looking up from a block of sandstone [wow, creepy]. It was a long and projecting face with a flat nose.
Dr. Alemseged’s team spent much of the last five years extracting the rest of the specimen from the surrounding stone with dentist’s drills and picks. The tedious work exposed the full cranium and jaws, the torso and spinal column, limbs and the left foot. The child’s one complete finger was curled in a tiny grasp, much like a young chimpanzee’s. The skeleton is much more complete than Lucy’s.
The presence of a hyoid bone was a surprise. It is a rarely preserved bone in the larynx, or voice box, that supports muscles of the throat and tongue. The bone in the infant appeared to be primitive and more similar to those found in apes than in humans, the scientists said, but is the first hyoid found in such an early human-related species and thus important in research about the origins of human speech.
The first relatively complete shoulder blades to be found in an australopithecine individual was one of the most puzzling aspects of the discovery, several scientists said. The lower body appeared to be adapted for upright walking by afarensis. But the shoulders and long arms were more apelike.

PB2K · Sep 21, 2006, 03:37 AM

God put it there to test your faith

11011001 · Sep 21, 2006, 04:25 AM

Not even one reply in, and already derailed. Brilliant.

SirCastor · Sep 21, 2006, 04:37 AM

Is she okay? That's a long time to be missing...

turtle777 · Sep 21, 2006, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by SirCastor

Is she okay? That's a long time to be missing...

Darn, I wanted to post something like that

-t

Dark Helmet · Sep 21, 2006, 09:09 AM

So that's what happened to Eve.

Dakar · Sep 21, 2006, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by 11011001

Not even one reply in, and already derailed. Brilliant.

It is this thread's... DESTINY.

Dakar · Sep 21, 2006, 09:16 AM

Originally Posted by what_the_heck

Darn, I wanted to post something like that

-t

I was thinking more a long the lines of, "Great, another burden for Social Security."

ink · Sep 21, 2006, 09:17 AM

Shouldn't this be in the political/war lounge?

It may offend. We all know how "reliable" carbon dating is.

SirCastor · Sep 21, 2006, 09:19 AM

Oh c'mon. It's just fun.

Any thoughts on dating older women? :o

Dakar · Sep 21, 2006, 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by ink

It may offend.

?

"Old bones offend me!"

Chuckit · Sep 21, 2006, 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by ink

Shouldn't this be in the political/war lounge?

No good reason why it should. It's a scientific find. If somebody wants to take a political stance on it, they can go to the PL with that.

Originally Posted by ink

It may offend. We all know how "reliable" carbon dating is.

I would have to laugh if they were using carbon-14 to try and say an object is 3 million years old.

Zeeb · Sep 21, 2006, 09:49 AM

awww, she's cute!

Adam Betts · Sep 21, 2006, 09:56 AM

This is what she'd look like at age 20

Dakar · Sep 21, 2006, 09:59 AM

Christ, first thing I think when I see that picture is, "It's the internet. Some sicko probably faps to that."

MacNStein · Sep 21, 2006, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by PB2K

God put it there to test your faith

and it's a wash. GG, thanks for playing.

Oh well, could have been an interesting thread, but the anti-Theists can't help themselves.

BlueSky · Sep 21, 2006, 10:03 AM

She doesn't look a day over 2 million.

OwlBoy · Sep 21, 2006, 10:03 AM

Ohh, no one else has said it yet…

I'd Hit it.

-Owl

residentEvil · Sep 21, 2006, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by Dakar

Christ, first thing I think when I see that picture is, "It's the internet. Some sicko probably faps to that."

i just did.

twice.

Monique · Sep 21, 2006, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by ink

Shouldn't this be in the political/war lounge?

It may offend. We all know how "reliable" carbon dating is.

It shows you believe only in creation.

Actually they use nitrogen particle beam to determine the age; which makes more sense than some dude used a wand and everything appeared by magic.

RAILhead · Sep 21, 2006, 10:16 AM

Mom?!?

Kevin · Sep 21, 2006, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by OwlBoy

Ohh, no one else has said it yet…

I'd Hit it.

-Owl

Damn, too late.

Originally Posted by Monique

It shows you believe only in creation.

Actually they use nitrogen particle beam to determine the age; which makes more sense than some dude used a wand and everything appeared by magic.

Didn't you just say you were jewish not too long ago?

bstone · Sep 21, 2006, 12:04 PM

Ever notice how people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved?

Monique · Sep 21, 2006, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by Kevin

Damn, too late.

Didn't you just say you were jewish not too long ago?

Yes I am a reformed Jew and I still believe only in evolution.

Dark Helmet · Sep 21, 2006, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by bstone

Ever notice how people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved?

And act

teknopimp · Sep 21, 2006, 12:14 PM

she's hawt.

TheoCryst · Sep 21, 2006, 10:01 PM

Originally Posted by OwlBoy

Ohh, no one else has said it yet…

I'd Hit it.

-Owl

Damn, beat me to it.

Kerrigan · Sep 21, 2006, 10:33 PM

So it's a skull? I remember Jeremy and some of the other guys on campus used to call our professor a "skull-face" because he was old, but it was an anthropology class and skull-face seemed to have a pretty tolerant attitude towards homosexuals... George used to say "Hey Kerrigan, I kinda like the way that skull-face is gay friendly, let's experiment together so I can resolve these insecurities"... So George started to take off his pants but then Father McCormick walked by our dorm and we stopped...

So I told Alice about it and ... well... let's just say... ya

- - e r i k - - · Sep 22, 2006, 12:22 AM

Originally Posted by bstone

Ever notice how people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved?

Yup

Kerrigan · Sep 22, 2006, 12:26 AM

Isn't that comparison a bit dangerous? I mean, that type of logic is consistent with claims that black people "look unevolved".

- - e r i k - - · Sep 22, 2006, 12:30 AM

Nah, here's how it works:

Racism = Bad
Stupidism = Good

KeriVit · Sep 22, 2006, 12:38 AM

Lisa!

Now there will be a new Apple Computer!

bstone · Sep 22, 2006, 01:12 AM

Originally Posted by Monique

Yes I am a reformed Jew and I still believe only in evolution.

I don't believe you.

There is no such thing as the "Reformed" movement. There is the Reform movement, however, which is distinctly different from "reformed".

I asked this to the daughter of the head of the Reform movement who I go to school with.

goMac · Sep 22, 2006, 01:23 AM

Originally Posted by bstone

Ever notice how people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved?

They were intelligently designed that way.

Chuckit · Sep 22, 2006, 01:33 AM

Originally Posted by bstone

I don't believe you.

There is no such thing as the "Reformed" movement. There is the Reform movement, however, which is distinctly different from "reformed".

I asked this to the daughter of the head of the Reform movement who I go to school with.

Possibly — just possibly — English might not be Monique's first language.

Kerrigan · Sep 22, 2006, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

Nah, here's how it works:

Racism = Bad
Stupidism = Good

Well, if you can identify stupidity through outward appearances, and if you can do the same thing with race, and if both of these things are matters of evolution, then the distinction you make seems arbitrary.

turtle777 · Sep 22, 2006, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

Racism = Bad
Stupidism = Good

What about stupid racism, bad stupidity and good racism ?

-t

Chuckit · Sep 22, 2006, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

Well, if you can identify stupidity through outward appearances, and if you can do the same thing with race, and if both of these things are matters of evolution, then the distinction you make seems arbitrary.

I don't understand what you're saying.

Kerrigan · Sep 22, 2006, 02:27 PM

Someone earlier said that creationists look "unevolved". I'm merely illustrating how that sort of logic, of connecting someone's outward appearances with their level of evolutionary development, can easily be used to justify racism. In fact, describing groups of people as being "unevolved" has been used extensively in the past to justify extremely racist theories (such as the Aryan race theory).

Edit: I'm not saying anyone's racist, I'm just pointing out what that type of logic can give birth to.

Gossamer · Sep 22, 2006, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

So it's a skull? I remember Jeremy and some of the other guys on campus used to call our professor a "skull-face" because he was old, but it was an anthropology class and skull-face seemed to have a pretty tolerant attitude towards homosexuals... George used to say "Hey Kerrigan, I kinda like the way that skull-face is gay friendly, let's experiment together so I can resolve these insecurities"... So George started to take off his pants but then Father McCormick walked by our dorm and we stopped...

So I told Alice about it and ... well... let's just say... ya

No one else catch this?

Spliff · Sep 22, 2006, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

No one else catch this?

Nope. What am I not getting?

- - e r i k - - · Sep 22, 2006, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

Someone earlier said that creationists look "unevolved". I'm merely illustrating how that sort of logic, of connecting someone's outward appearances with their level of evolutionary development, can easily be used to justify racism. In fact, describing groups of people as being "unevolved" has been used extensively in the past to justify extremely racist theories (such as the Aryan race theory).

Edit: I'm not saying anyone's racist, I'm just pointing out what that type of logic can give birth to.

Gah. It was a joke.

turtle777 · Sep 22, 2006, 05:43 PM

Originally Posted by Spliff

Nope. What am I not getting?

Yea, add me to the ignorant list.

-t

Kevin · Sep 23, 2006, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by bstone

Ever notice how people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved?

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

And act

The irony... oh the irony...