Posted on 04/06/2005 12:13:36 PM PDT by CobaltBlue
The toothless skull of an early human ancestor, discovered in the Republic of Georgia, may attest to evolution's oldest known example of some kind of compassion for the elderly and handicapped in society, scientists are reporting today.
Other experts agreed that the discovery was significant, but cautioned that it might be a stretch to interpret the fossil as evidence of compassion.
The well-preserved skull belonged to a male Homo erectus about 40 years old. All his teeth, except the left canine, were missing. The empty tooth sockets had been filled in by a regrowth of bone, the scientists said, indicating that the man had been toothless for at least two years before he died at what was then an old age. (The discoverers call him the "old man.")
In a report in today's issue of the journal Nature, the discovery team said the 1.77-million-year-old skull "raises questions about alternative subsistence strategies in early Homo."
Specifically, how could the man have survived that long, unable to chew the food of a mainly meat-eating society?
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
>> Well, at least there wasn't a funnel and hollow tube lying around. <<
They took it away. That's why he died. Damned liberals.
Do not confuse rational with logical. By "not rational," I simply meant the lack of a cognitive thought process. The dog isn't saying, "I'll be nice to this guy, he gets me my food." He's simply saying, "Oooh! Goody! Food Guy! I LOVE food guy!"
I've got to say that the scientists involved in this speculation don't seem to have spent much time around the toothless.
Babies and elderly people who need a ground/mashed diet need it because other textures pose a choking hazard. Many an old party will happily gum away on just about anything. The difficulty is in the embarrassment factor at mealtimes. I doubt the creatures under discussion gave table manners much thought.
It's hilarious how they find a fragment of bone and invent an entire species and culture - down to what they ate, wore, and did for fun - and then they have the audacity to call it science. They just make crap up.
I think the key factor in the analysis is that the person in question lived in Georgia, a country just south of Russia, with a climate which is very cold in the winter, well below freezing.
1.77 million years ago predates agriculture by quite a bit, by about 1.76 million years or so.
Modern toothless humans can eat ice cream, cereal, baby food, crackers, bread, etc. These did not exist 1.77 million years ago. So, what did he eat?
Well, what did people eat 1.77 million years ago? Any suggestions?
Maybe this guy was helped by his tribe-mates or maybe he just survived on raw meat. Cut in small pieces it's pretty easy to swallow.
Yeah, but what about dogs who haven't been told about the lives of feral dogs??
susie
I suppose they ate meat if they could catch it, I suspect they ate bugs and grubs and things, nuts, fruits, things they could gather (in season). I suspect someone did chew some of his food for him. Ick, I would prefer a blender.
susie
Really big rabbits.
I guess I just don't know enough people without their own teeth?
I would venture some sort of comment about trailer parks or rednecks but not knowing you very well don't know if you'd laugh or get mad at me. ;^)
OK, laughter is good. Clean shotguns are good.
(tiptoeing away quietly . . . . )
CAT FUD---->
"strategies in early Homo"
And his teeth were knocked out? I won't say it.
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Ditto to that !!
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