MONTE VERDE: MIGRATION TO THE NEW WORLD “From Whence Came Those Aboriginals Of America?” Thomas Jefferson, arguably the first scientific investigator of the past, wrote that question in his field notes as he was excavating a mound at Monticello in 1787(Jefferson 1998). When and how humans arrived in the far flung parts of the world--that is, far flung from our Homo sapiens sapiens origins in Africa--is part of the essential problem that interests most archaeologists and paleontologists, and all people for that matter. After all, creation myths are in part attempts to answer the question "Where did we come from?" Origin myths are ancient oral history, and are by nature wrapped in uncertainty and vagueness; they often contradict one another
Introduction Have you ever wondered where we come from? Anthropologists have made many discoveries in the past few decades that have increased our knowledge as to who our ancestors are and how humans evolved. “Lucy” who was discovered in 1974. Anthropologists have discovered fossil remains of an ancestor older than Lucy; a female named Ardipithecus, or Ardi for short, who possesses human and ape-like qualities. Ardi proved that bipedalism, or walking upright on two feet, existed half a million years before previously thought * Thesis: The main features of Ardi that helped shed light on these discoveries were from close examinations of Ardi’s skull, pelvis and limbs, and her teeth.
The dating of the human remains is vital in not only establishing the age of the first Australians, but gaining a sense of their culture and society. ‘The skeletons are by far the earliest evidence found anywhere in the world of human remains being interred with burial rites’ (Grose, 2003). From a cultural perspective this implies a complex society that respected its dead and had some sense of spirituality and notion of an afterlife (Grose, 2003). The evidence gained at Lake Mungo has put a time frame on the climate change that occurred around 50,000 years ago allowing the commencement of occupation. The human occupation peaked during drying of the climate over the next 10,000 years.
Sue, the T-Rex The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex was discovered on August 12, 1990, after being dug up from the bottom of a hill in north central South Dakota. Measuring an amazing twelve and a half meters (forty-one feet) long, and four meters (thirteen feet) tall at the hip, the skeleton is the largest skeleton structure ever to be unveiled. The remains of the highly preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex remains were found by Sue Hendrickson, a volunteer with the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, and therefore it was decided to name the skeleton Sue. Sue is estimated to be approximately sixty-five million years old. Characteristics of her bones helped to determine some detail of the Tyrannosaurus Rex’s life.
Cueva de El Castillo Looking at the Stone Age Cueva de El Castillo Looking at the Stone Age Located in the northern most province of Spain, Cueva of El Castillo arguably holds the oldest cave paintings known to earth. The "Cave of the Castle" has over 150 images catalogued with several dating 35,000 years old and a few dating 40,800 years. (U-Series Dating of Paleolithic Art) Spanish archaeologist Hermilio Alcalde del Rio first discovered the cave in 1903 on his quest to learn about early cave paintings. He found the time of these earliest paintings are in the Aurignacian cultural era, tools used in this time were made of bone, flint and antler. The paintings and carvings in the cave were made with these early tools.
garhi show cut marks made by a stone tool; both the hominid and antelope fossils are dated at 2.5 million years old. 10. What is the difference between H. habilis and H. erectus? Homo erectus, unlike H. habilis and all of the Australopithecus species, ranged far beyond Africa. Some scientists have split H. erectus into three separate species, based on the geographic region in which specimens have been found: H. ergaster (Africa), H. erectus (Asia), and H. heidelbergensis (Europe).
Scientists say this is the first time that body adornment has been conclusively seen in Neanderthals. Body ornamentation is a medium or technology for communication, particularly of socially relevant information. Archaeologists consider jewelry to be evidence of symbolic thinking and modern behavior, usually found in Homo sapiens’ sites. It can also represent individuality or status in groups. This is the first evidence that around 50,000 years ago, 10,000 years before humans came on the scene, “the behavior of Neanderthals was symbolically organized,” (Zilhao).
Native Americans How long have people lived in North America? No one knows exactly. Some Native American legends suggest that people have lived on this continent for countless generations, ever since human life began. Some scientists confirm that Native Americans were indeed the first humans to inhabit North America. They also say that humans first arrived here at least 30,000 years ago, perhaps much earlier.
The country of Egypt is located in the continent of Africa. About five thousand years ago, Egypt had a great big civilization along the banks of the Nile River. The hot, dry air helped preserve evidence of the civilization. This is how archeologists discovered many monuments, writings, paintings, and other items from ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for over three thousand years.
Date back to 5000 years 1. In 1991 the dated was pushed back to 5,200 years due to an iceman discovery 2. There are common details that state the earliest tattoos were done on college students at Berkeley B. The earliest tattoos were found in Egypt 1. They were present on several female Egyptian mummies dating back to 2,000 B.C.