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Oldest Human Hair Discovered In Fossilized Poop

Posted by samzenpus on from the near-the-top-of-the-food-chain dept.

goran72 writes "A new study has suggested that strands discovered in fossil hyena poop found in a South African cave could be the oldest-known human hairs. According to a report in National Geographic News, researchers discovered the rock-hard hyena dung near the Sterkfontein caves, where many early human ancestor fossils have been found."

14 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Multiple discoveries! by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oldest known human hair.
    Oldest known person eaten by a hyena!

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are
    1. Re:Multiple discoveries! by rubycodez · · Score: 4, Funny

      oldest human in turd form, besting Dick Cheney's record!

  2. Re:Could be? by John+Hasler · · Score: 2, Interesting

    > Isn't this just speculation?

    Probably not. The microscopic structure of the hair of a given species is unique.

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
  3. Re:Could be? by Dr.+Hellno · · Score: 5, Informative

    the article is actually pretty careful about not asserting this as fact. The article only asserts that hairs were found with "wavy bands of scales" which suggest modern primates. Human hairs closest resemble these hairs, so it's possible that they come from an early human species.

  4. Re:rock hard indeed by torgis · · Score: 2, Funny

    Fail.

  5. Re:rock hard indeed by ptx0 · · Score: 2, Funny

    The failus?

  6. Re:Slashdot now officially publishes ... by ptx0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Shit that matters!

  7. someone has to say it by plopez · · Score: 3, Funny

    talk about a bad hair day...

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  8. Re:Could be? by jd · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, the next question is whether these hairs are fossilized or actual. If actual, hair is remarkably good at preserving DNA. It may be possible to determine what primate the hairs belong to.

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    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  9. Humans by HangingChad · · Score: 2, Funny

    Humans - The other white meat

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    That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
    1. Re:Humans by NewbieProgrammerMan · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I wonder if it tastes like the other, other, OTHER white meat?

      --
      [b.belong('us') for b in bases if b.owner() == 'you']
  10. Re:Slashdot now officially publishes ... by ZERO1ZERO · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or, indeed, shit with matter.

  11. Re:Could be? by jd · · Score: 3, Informative

    It was discovered not long ago that hair itself contains cells, not just the follicles, and that the hair protects those cells against damage. This has been a massive boon to archaeological DNA studies, as it massively reduces contamination as well as reducing loss of information.

    The discovery was made during studies of the hair of woolly mammoth. It's a fascinating line of research and one that is under-utilized at present

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  12. Same Old Story by hyades1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Hey Ogg, I bet those guys who had the really good dope are camped in that cave in Dark Valley."

    "I think you're right, Targ. Listen...you can hear them laughing their heads off."

    "Let's go see if they'll let us have some."

    "Good plan, Ogg."

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.