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Oldest American Skull Found in Mexico

Posted by michael on from the nice-teeth dept.

MaximumBob writes "While digging a well near the Mexico City airport, crews found this skull, believed to be the oldest human skull ever found in the Americas. What's especially exciting is that since it was found outside the United States, it's not subject to U.S. laws which allow local tribes to rebury remains and keep them from being studied. The skull will be studied by scientists and may shed new light on alternatives to the "land bridge" hypothesis of American settlement."

4 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. Conflicted by flikx · · Score: 0, Troll

    First off, this is not surprising, being that there is a lot of old crap in Mexico. What is surprising, however, is that they cite evidence of migration from a land bridge previously existing between Siberia -> Alaska. Everyone knows that humans have alway migrated out of Mexico, not in. I have seen this myself in the suburbs of San Diego. Furthermore, what's to say that this skull find isn't really a snitch killed by the mafia or somesuch??

    --
    One future, two choices. Oppose them or let them destroy us.
  2. Re:Enjoy it while it lasts, skull... by rworne · · Score: 1, Troll
    Hah, and I thought all those complaints of a Senate "death watch" were just political B.S.


    Like him or not, circling over him like vultures hoping for him to kick over and create another "upset" to win back the Senate majority is simply tasteless. It's political trolling.

    --
    I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
  3. C14 issues by young-earth · · Score: -1, Troll
    The article fails to mention the many problems with Carbon-14 dating. In fact it is very questionable, there are a number of known absurd results in the literature. Furthermore, testing shows there is more C14 in the atmosphere now than there was 40 years ago; if the amount of C14 is increasing, then dating based on assumed constant levels is going to give much too old results. Only if you can prove that it's been constant can dating be considered reliable using this technique.

    Some examples of wildly wrong results from C14 dating:
    Shells from snails that were alive were carbon dated: 27,000 years old. Science vol. 224, 1984, pp. 58-61

    Similarly, live mollusk shells: up to 2300 years old. Science vol. 141, 1963, pp.634-637

    A seal, freshly killed: 1300 years! Antarctic Journal vol. 6, Sept-Oct. 1971, p.211

    "One part of the Vollosovitch mammoth carbon dated at 29,500 years and another part at 44,000"
    --Troy L. Pewe, Quaternary Stratigraphic Nomenclature in Unglaciated Central Alaska, Geological Survey Professional Paper 862 (U.S. Gov. printing office, 1975) p. 30.

    "One part of Dima [a baby frozen mammoth] was 40,000, another part was 26,000"
    --Troy L. Pewe, Quaternary Stratigraphic Nomenclature in Unglaciated Central Alaska, Geological Survey Professional Paper 862 (U.S. Gov. printing office, 1975) p. 30
    --
    Got Wisdom?
  4. Re:So what happens to that U.S. Law if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    In my opinion, NAGPRA is one of the most regressive, anti-scientific laws ever written. When determining where a skeleton or other remains ultimatly end up, it is assumed that all remains will go somewhere. If archaeological or anthropological evidence cannot place remains among any living, federally recognized Indian group, native folklore is taken at face value and the group that claims to have lived in an area "since time immemorial" has the greatest claim.

    Sounds like you and other scienhave been pretty affected by this law. What a surprise! The US government passing a law screwing a minority group of people. At least you didn't get smallpox....