Scientists find prehistoric dwarf remains

Mr. Pessimistic

Quote:
In a breathtaking discovery, scientists working on a remote Indonesian island say they have uncovered the bones of a human dwarf species marooned for eons while modern man rapidly colonized the rest of the planet.

Cool!

Mr. P.

The one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.

I came to get down, I came to get down. So get out ya seat and jump around - House of Pain

HEY! Is that a ball in your court? - Mr. P

I came to kick ass and chew Bubble Gum...and I am all out of Bubble Gum - They Live, Roddy Piper

Interbane

Oooh Ooooooh!

I have a theory about this that adresses the 'missing links' of evolution. I think I'll post a thread here called 'pocket evolution' that is based on the same idea that you posted Mr. P. To sum it up in an attempt to quell any anticipation on the subject I'll leave this:

Fossils are the focal point for evolutionary discoveries concerning humanities past. There are types of earth that do not acquiesce the formation of said fossils. If an 'evolutionary pocket' were to develop in one of these types of lands, ie 'an island', humanity would have no clues of it's existance.

Niall001

Slightly related:

Congo's mystery killer could be a new type of ape
By David Derbyshire, Science Correspondent
(Filed: 07/10/2004)

An elusive new species of great ape, known to locals as the "lion killer", may have been discovered in remote forests of the Congo.

The creatures are far larger and more aggressive than normal chimpanzees and have provoked much debate among experts. Some believe that the lion killers are a previously unknown species and should join the other great apes: the chimp, bonobo, gorilla and orang utan.

But others say they are unusually aggressive chimps with odd gorilla-like characteristics.

Legends of lost apes of the Congo basin go back more than a century and inspired the 1980 novel Congo by Michael Crichton. In the 1990s, Karl Ammann, a Swiss photographer, travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to track them.

Locals told him about giant apes with a reputation for killing lions, New Scientist magazine reports today. Their ridged skulls were typical of gorillas but they behaved like chimps, and unlike either they made permanent nests.

Last year Shelly Williams, an independent primatologist affiliated to the Jane Goodall Institute in Maryland, in the United States, became the first scientist to see the creatures close up and is sure that they are a new species.

"We could hear them in the trees, about 20 feet away," she said. "My tracker made a sound of an injured duiker [antelope] and four came rushing through the brush towards me.

"If this had been a bluff charge, they would have been screaming to intimidate us. These guys were quiet. And they were huge. They were coming in for the kill. I was directly in front of them, and as soon as they saw my face, they stopped and disappeared."

However, Dr Colin Groves, of the Australian National University, Canberra, who has studied their skulls, said: "There is no doubt from the measurements that this is the skull of a chimp, although the crest is strange."

Dr Andrew Whitten, of St Andrews University, questioned whether behavioural differences were enough to suggest a new ape. "There are huge cultural differences among chimpanzees," he said.

"I do not think that behaviour makes a good marker for sub-species in great apes as flexible as chimps

Let us agree, there is no one single reality. Not upon this stage, not in this world, all is in the mind... imagination is the only truth. Because it cannot be contradicted except by other imaginations - Richard Matheson

There are no conclusive indications by which waking life can be distinguished from sleep - Rene Descartes

Chris OConnor

Niall

Shelly Williams has agreed to a chat with us here on BookTalk, so expect that at some point in the future. She is the aunt of one of my best friends and I met her in July.

Chris

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandella

Niall001

Thats excellent news Chris!

I don't know how you get all these great chat guests!

I really have to sort something out for these author chats. Pity the cafes are closed at 3am in the morning. oh well.

Let us agree, there is no one single reality. Not upon this stage, not in this world, all is in the mind... imagination is the only truth. Because it cannot be contradicted except by other imaginations - Richard Matheson

There are no conclusive indications by which waking life can be distinguished from sleep - Rene Descartes

Chris OConnor

What time zone are you in? Dr. Grayling just set the chat date and time for Saturday, November 20, 2004 at 10am eastern. This is about 3pm UK time.

How do I get these guests? Actually, it is you guys the get them. I simply contact them and tell a little about our community. They almost always visit the discussion forums and read their books section to see what our members think. The quality and quantity of posts on our forums is what does the trick. So thank you!

Chris

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandella


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