Oldest Modern Humans Found

DrLudicrous writes "Anthropologists have reconstructed and dated three skulls from Ethiopia that they believe to be the oldest anatomically modern human skulls in existance. They date to 160,000 years ago, in agreement with genetic studies that pin the arrival of modern humans to at least 150,000 years ago. The skulls also demonstrate evidence of ritual burial." UC Berkeley has the original release as well.

Comments

But not one for the squeamish... ;)

[Anonymous Coward]

What's to say that God didn't actually create Woman first, then cut off her willy to make Man?

This is funny, but there is some textual and anthropological evidence to suggest that a sort of prejudaic oral proto-genesis may have told the story that way.

This is echoed in some early fertility cults: "honored" males would have their genitals sliced off, and then they would run down the street carrying the removed bits in their hands, offering them to the women in each house that they passed. You could perhaps see this as "Thank you for giving me this willy; allow me to offer it in return," or maybe an attempt to help balance a concept of cosmic hermaphrodism -- and that sharing of the Magic Wand would lead to better "results" as a community than keeping it to oneself.

Incidentally, the same cults have some indirect relationships to a certain kind of resurrection-cult, one of which later became, um... quite popular.

Anyway, it's interesting to think about why, when codified, the story was told with the dude in the first-created slot, though I suppose if you're trying to solve a chicken-and-egg riddle, there's a 50-50 chance that you'll make that particular decision.