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Our museum (The Palm Beach Museum of Natural History) is appearing at an upcoming Darwin Day event organized by the Atheists of Broward County and the Center for Inquiry, Ft. Lauderdale Community. It is going to be held in Davie, which is near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I thought I would share a few things about that happening and see if anyone else is holding similar activities. There are going to be lectures, discussions, and video showings.
Infact, I am giving a lecture on the ‘physical evidence’ and will be drawing quite heavily on material from the various physical anthropology classes I have taken in the past. I am thrilled that I always keep my notes and textbooks from all my classes. I plan to discuss:
--Neanderthal Evolution, with a focus on the Homo heidelbergensis to Homo neanderthalensis transition. That process is especially evident with fossils like Atapuerca 5, which is a clear ‘link’ between the earlier and later species. While I hate to even use even part of the term ‘missing link,’ I will probably need to use it due to the public’s constant fascination with that terminology.
--Lactose tolerance in Northern Europeans and certain Eastern Africans and how it relates to vitamin D synthesis and pastoral groups.
--Cystic fibrosis and its potential relationship with tuberculosis.
--Comparative Anatomy of Darwin’s Finches.
I also spent a long night putting both museum and Darwin Day T-Shirts up on CafePress. Considering this was my first attempt at this, I thought they came out well. Hopefully, some folks will want to buy them at the event. You can see all the designs on my journal.
Cross-posted to anthropology, anthropologist, bioanthCurrent Mood:  amused Current Music: The Time Tunnel |
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Do we have proof of a society, ancient or among recent natives, that didn't know that sex leads to babies?
I once heard the claim that unspecified "ancient" people thought it was due to the female body alone, that the "sex-babies" link came later, with a shift to sperm as the sole cause. This was to be in lockstep with a shift from a matriarch to a patriarch society. I've also heard of a tribe that believed the sending of children were something the forefathers dealt with and that sex had nothing to do with it.
I've found both claims dubious, but never met anyone who could refute them. What do you think? |
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I am beyond thrilled with this find. I cannot wait to read the Nature article.
'Lucy's baby' found in Ethiopia
The 3.3-million-year-old fossilised remains of a human-like child have been unearthed in Ethiopia's Dikika region. The female bones are from the species Australopithecus afarensis, which is popularly known from the adult skeleton nicknamed "Lucy".
Original Article with photo,( or read more here )
X-posted to anthropologist, anthropology, and bioanth |
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Aug. 9th, 2006 @ 11:45 pm
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Trying to decorate a new room, I was wondering if anyone could tell me a name/publisher of a paleoanthropology/human evolution wall chart (Something kind of like this except just about evolution)
I've tried googling all sorts of queries that I'd imagine would lead me to something like this. |
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I've recently been reading The Hite Report on Female Sexuality (1976) and encountered references to sexuality and prehistoric peoples, but am doubting that such positions are still held in current anthropology (what she drew upon thirty years ago I'm not sure). Hite says It has been theorized that when the male contribution to childbearing became known, possibly around 10,000 or more years ago (this knowledge coming at different times to different societies), there began a gradual shift to more male involvement in religious functions, and gradually to the system of patriarchal social order in which men now are almost entirely dominant. It seems strange to me that she is placing the date at around the same time when complex societies were first developing, and yet this new awareness did not lead to every culture becoming patriarchal. It seems even stranger that this ignorance existed as there've been fertility goddess figures for thousands of years prior (she says some claimed that these showed a lack of awareness of the male's role in reproduction). The earliest she provides evidence for the transformation to a patriarchy is Ancient Greece, and also the Hebrew tribes returning from their Babylonian exile and their subsequent criminalization of sexual activity other than guy on girl intercourse (cunnilingus and homosexuality were formerly accepted), "all forms of sexuality except the one necessary for reproduction were banned by religious code." These changes in attitude were in part due to an attempt at both increasing population and also differentiating their group from those surrounding them which were less patriarchal.
Guess where I'm trying to take this is, does anybody have any information to back this up, or that demonstrates something dissimilar or to the contrary (links, book titles, your own words)? It would also be nice to find a book that looks at sexuality and how it is regarded by hunter-gatherer bands and tribes, early sedentary and agriculturalist groups, and also how it relates to the development of complex societies or state formation. Even a text that focused on just one of these formations would be helpful.
x-posted |
| » "Chimpanzee and human ancestors may have interbred" |
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Genetic analysis suggests a messy split between the two lineages.
The evolutionary split between humans and our nearest evolutionary cousins, chimpanzees, may have occurred more recently than we thought, according to a new comparison of the respective genetic sequences. What's more, it might have been a messy divorce rather than a clean break — leading to the controversial theory that our two sets of ancestors may have interbred many thousands of years after first parting company.
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Original article or more.. ( behind the cut )
(also reported on the BBC website)
May. 19th, 2006 @ 09:24 am
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| » Tim White does it again... |
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Au Anamensis is another link in human evolution.
You know, it sure seems to me that the "missing link" is a misnomer. We've got a good number of links missing, it seems!
Apr. 12th, 2006 @ 01:43 pm
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| » Articles Needed |
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Can someone point me in the direction of articles on the topic of "theory of mind" and primates/evolution? I am not too familiar with the concept, but I don't want to stray too far from my topic either. Anybody?
Apr. 11th, 2006 @ 03:45 pm
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| » In desperate need of term paper help {x-posted} |
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I'm taking a class on evolution and extinction. It's an Honors class with two sadistic professors who are impossible to please.
Anyway, I think I've bitten off more than I can chew with my paper topic.... and it's too late to change it.
I'm writing on the topic of evolution in the media, particularly political cartoons. All I can think of as far as sources for this is just Googling for cartoons, and possible reviews of cartoons and cartoonists. I have no idea where to go from there. I am SO stuck and SO screwed unless a miracle occurs and I can figure out an approach to this.
One of my professors specifically mentioned Garry Trudeau (the guy who does the Doonesbury comic), so I may have something to work with there.
Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated... Honors classes are evil.
Thanks in advance,
Nik
P.S. feel free to delete if this is too off-topic.... I'm just really getting desperate.
Apr. 5th, 2006 @ 08:25 pm
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| » Feet on fish? |
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Hey all. Been lurking for some time and thought it would now be a good time to post. Anyone see this?
Evolution from water to land:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7085/full/440747a.html
I take everything in Nature with a big ol' grain of salt, but this was too cool to pass up.
Take that, Dr. Dino! (www.drdino.com)
May the whole anthropology department show up at your lecture tomorrow night at Kent State and give you hell.
Apr. 5th, 2006 @ 04:13 pm
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