Archive for the ‘Ancient World’ Category
By: The Scribe on August, 2011
Scientists are now finding research that the gene responsible for red hair and freckles may have actually come from Neanderthal man. It is believed that the gene could be as much as 100,000 years old and was found in Neanderthals living in Europe. They believe that the gene was passed to our Homo sapiens ancestors about 40,000 years ago. That was when our ancestors migrated to the area from Africa.
Neanderthals were taller than members of the Homo sapiens species and had much stockier builds. Their faces were larger than those of Homo sapiens ancestors and had large noses and chins and foreheads that receded.
Our ancestors, who belonged to the Cro-Magnon branch of Homo sapiens, were able to co-exist with Neanderthals for about 10,000 years. It is believed that the two species may have interbred in order for the gene to pass from one species to the next. It is the MC1R gene that is responsible for red hair and freckles. It is believed that Neanderthals that possessed the MC1R gene may actually have looked very similar to that of modern Europeans.
Having light skin was actually an evolutionary advantage for these Neanderthals. It meant that the individuals who had light skin and red hair were capable of absorbing more vitamin D from sunlight. In Europe, where there are clouds the majority of the time, this would have been a distinct advantage.
Other discoveries have been made that are changing scientists’ beliefs about Neanderthals. They were originally believed to have only rudimentary speech. Scientists and archaeologists have long thought that Neanderthals had a vocabulary of only about 70 words and that their speech was likely very guttural. New research is beginning to show that that may not have been the case. It is now theorized that Neanderthals may have had a much more sophisticated language than was originally thought.
Archaeologists have also found painted shells in Spain that prove that Neanderthals created artwork, something that experts did not think they did. The painted shells were a form of body art or jewelry. Similar shells had been found in Africa and in the Near East and dated from 70,000 to 120,000 years ago. When they were found, they were attributed to our ancestors and not to members of the Neanderthal species. Scientists and archaeologists are now thinking that jewelry that was believed to have been created by Cro-Magnon man may have been created by Neanderthals instead.
The shells were painted with traces of mineral pigments. In some cases, tools used to paint the shells were found as well. There was no proof that the items had been painted at random as there were no traces of pigments found on other items such as food or other stone tools.
Not only was it obvious that the painting of the items was deliberate, some of the mineral pigments came from a distance away. This meant that they needed to be transported to the new area specifically for the purpose of creating artwork. Some shells were used as paint cups and others were decorated for use as body art or jewelry.
By: The Scribe on July, 2011
Scientists have begun to think that the relationship between dogs and humans may actually go back much further than they originally believed. Early humans domesticated dogs because they needed help herding animals as well as hunting them. They also provided an excellent alarm system and could be used as a food source in a pinch. Dogs enjoyed staying with humans because of the shelter and food that early man provided. Early dogs were still very much pack animals and enjoyed the companionship that early humans also provided.
In the past, scientists believed that humans and dogs paired up approximately 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. They used clues found in archaeological records in order to make this estimation. This was the time just before the practice of agriculture became a part of the lives of early humans. In the beginning, dogs were tamed wolves that were then interbred for specific characteristics. Some of the earliest dog fossils show this transition from wolf to dog. Examples of bones which show this change include those found at Chauvet Cave in France and Mezhirich in the Ukraine.
Now there is some proof that wolf bones that were found with human bones may have been dogs in their earliest stages. Because they were not bred for specific characteristics until much later it is possible that the wolf bones could have been those of domesticated dogs as the DNA would not have changed overly much in early days. Scientists now believe that dogs may have been domesticated in some form as far back as 100,000 years ago.
Scientists have been able to pinpoint what some of the earliest dog breeds are as well. The genetic structure of these dogs shows the least amount of change from wolf genes although some of the breeds are surprising. Fourteen ancient dog breeds have been identified. They are: the Basenji, the Shar Pei, the Shiba Inu, the Chow Chow, the Akita Inu, the Siberian Husky, the Alaskan Malamute, the Afghan Hound and the Saluki. The Saluki, in particular, is one of the oldest breeds. There are images of dogs which resemble salukis in Egyptian tombs dating as far back as 2134 BCE. They also appear on Sumerian carvings which hdate from between 7000 and 6000 BCE. Salukis are also connected to the Bible and to ancient China as well.
Scientists have also been able to determine that some dog breeds that were previously believed to be very old are actually more modern. These included the Pharaoh Hound, the Norwegian Elkhound and the Ibizan Hound. It is thought that these breeds were created in an attempt to recreate much older breeds that existed at one time.
It is believed that early dogs travelled to North America via the land bridge and likely 
accompanied early humans as domesticated creatures. Some of these became wild dogs that have traits that are remarkably similar to dingos and other ancient canines. These traits include a medium build, a face that is vaguely foxlike, ears that are large and upright and a tail that is crooked.
By: The Scribe on July, 2011
A theory has been put forth that humans lack body hair in an attempt to reduce the number of parasites that affect us. There are many parasites such as ticks, fleas and lice that actually prefer to make their home in coats of deep fur. Humans lack body hair which makes us unique among primates and in a category shared only by a few semi-aquatic species of animals such as hippopotamuses, dolphins and whales.
The study was developed by a behavioral ecologist and an evolutionary biologist. It basically states that because ancient humans were able to use fire, wear fire and construct shelters they no longer needed the thick coats of fur that early humanoids may have had. The hair on humans still exists in many areas but it has become so fine that it no longer works for heat regulation and no longer can support colonies of annoying parasites.
There are differences in body hair between men and women and the authors of the study say this supports their theory as well. It was believed that hairlessness became a desirable trait in mates and this may have been one reason why women have less body hair than men. A desirable mate was one which was less susceptible to parasitic infestation and being hairless advertised that an individual did indeed possess this desirable trait. It also explained why head and facial hair continued to be so thick. Humans use facial and head hair (or a lack of it) as a way of determining physical attractiveness in a mate. By retaining head and facial hair, this method of determining sexual attractiveness would not have been lost.
In the past, scientists thought that we abandoned our fur coat as a way of surviving in hot environments such as the African savanna. Scientists have accepted this theory even though other primates who lived in the same environment did not lose their hair coats like humans did.
It was also believed that the change in our fur coat came when we left the trees and 
began to dwell on the ground. A third theory stated that we lost our hair coat when we became semi-aquatic approximately 8 million years ago. At that time, humanoids began to swim and to immerse themselves in water. It was not surprising that we would adopt the same kind of thin hair coat that other aquatic mammals had.
Humans were still plagued by parasites even after they became hairless. A number of parasites such as body lice continued to affect early humanoids. They tended to live in the clothing and bedding that humans used on a regular basis. It was much easier to change clothing or bedding than it would have been for humans to get rid of parasites living in a thick coat of hair or fur.
While this theory seems to explain many of the reasons why humans would have lost their body hair it has not totally been proven as fact. Scientists would need to compare the amounts of body hair that populations have against the number of parasites that plague that population. That way they may be able to tell whether humans lost their hair to keep parasites at bay.
By: The Scribe on June, 2011
One of the problems with studying dinosaurs is that there are large gaps in the fossil record. This makes it difficult to tell where some of 
the dinosaurs evolved from. Scientists make guesses based on factors such as bone shape and tooth shape. They may find out later that two dinosaurs may be totally unrelated even though they may look the same in many ways. Or, as in the case of the brontosaurus, they may have ended up renaming a dinosaur that already had a name.
Now, scientists may need to do a little rethinking as one of the fossil gaps has been closed a little. It is now possible to connect a dinosaur such as Tyrannosaurus rex with some of the earliest predators. When you think about how ornery the T-rex was, it is no surprise that early predators would have been similarly nasty. The T-rex was quite an evolved predator for the time (between 67 to 65.5 million years ago) so when you think that these creatures were related to an extremely advanced predator it is no wonder that they were so effective at hunting and bringing down their prey.
Paleontologists who were working at the Ghost Ranch fossil site in New Mexico found the fossils and named the creature Daemonosaurus chauliodus which, appropriately enough, is Greek for “buck-toothed evil spirit”. It was named this for the buck teeth that the creature sported. Daemonosaurus was about the size of a large dog in height. The shape of the skull and the kind of teeth that filled it were quite unusual. The front teeth were extremely large, giving rise to the “buck-toothed” nickname. The snout was quite deep and short which scientists have said is unusual for a predator living at the time.
It is not the only buck-toothed dinosaur to have been discovered. A second species of dinosaur was found in China. Called Incisivosaurus gauthieri because of its beaver-like front teeth, this dinosaur was small and extremely quick. It was found to be one of the first oviraptorosaur species and shows that this species of dinosaur was once herbivorous. Although they belong to a group of dinosaurs called theropods (which are carnivorous), it was apparent that Incisivosaurus was actually a plant eater. The skeleton, which was discovered in Liaoning Province in northeastern China has been found to be approximately 128 million years old.
Scientists are still trying to piece together the fossils that have been found into one
continuous fossil record. There are many large gaps and it can be difficult to see how changes came about over time. Sometimes the gaps are caused by a total lack of fossils or because earlier testing techniques may have failed to show a connection. Many times scientists are working with only a partial set of fossils from prehistoric creatures, making it difficult to check areas such as skull and tooth shape.
Scientists are also trying to definitively prove where dinosaurs first lived. The best records show that they likely began life in South America. Fossils in that area have been found from as early as the late Triassic period, which was about 230 million years ago.
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Archaeologists have also found painted shells in Spain that prove that Neanderthals created artwork, something that experts did not think they did. The painted shells were a form of body art or jewelry. Similar shells had been found in Africa and in the Near East and dated from 70,000 to 120,000 years ago. When they were found, they were attributed to our ancestors and not to members of the Neanderthal species. Scientists and archaeologists are now thinking that jewelry that was believed to have been created by Cro-Magnon man may have been created by Neanderthals instead.
