 |
|
Kent State University Professor C. Owen Lovejoy helps unveil oldest hominid skeleton
October 02, 2009Throw out all those posters and books that depict an ape evolving into a human being, says Kent State University Professor of Anthropology Dr. C. Owen Lovejoy. An internationally recognized biological anthropologist who specializes in the study of human origins, Lovejoy is one of the primary authors who revealed their research findings today on Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia.
"People often think we evolved from apes, but no, apes in many ways evolved from us," Lovejoy said. "It has been a popular idea to think humans are modified chimpanzees. From studying Ardipithecus ramidus, or 'Ardi,' we learn that we cannot understand or model human evolution from chimps and gorillas."
A special issue of Science (www.sciencemag.org) available Oct. 2 will feature 11 papers that are the first formal description of "Ardi," a partial female skeleton. Lovejoy was first author on five papers and contributed to an additional three. For the past seven years, he has been a part of a major international research effort studying "Ardi," serving as post-cranial anatomist and behavioral theorist.
One of Lovejoy's most recognized achievements is the reconstruction of the skeleton of "Lucy," a fossil of a human ancestor that walked upright more than three million years ago. "'Ardi' is one million years older than 'Lucy,' more informative than 'Lucy,' and 'Ardi' changes what we know about human evolution."
When comparing "Ardi" to "Lucy," Lovejoy said that working on "Ardi" was much more exciting and interesting. "She provides real answers," he said.
Kent State University
One of Lovejoy's most recognized achievements is the reconstruction of the skeleton of "Lucy," a fossil of a human ancestor that walked upright more than three million years ago. "'Ardi' is one million years older than 'Lucy,' more informative than 'Lucy,' and 'Ardi' changes what we know about human evolution."
When comparing "Ardi" to "Lucy," Lovejoy said that working on "Ardi" was much more exciting and interesting. "She provides real answers," he said.
Kent State University
Hominid Current Events and Hominid News RSSEarly hominid first walked on two legs in the woods
Among the many surprises associated with the discovery of the oldest known, nearly complete skeleton of a hominid is the finding that this species took its first steps toward bipedalism not on the open, grassy savanna, as generations of scientists - going back to Charles Darwin - hypothesized, but in a wooded landscape.
Ardi displaces Lucy as oldest hominid skeleton
Nearly 17 years after plucking the fossilized tooth of a new human ancestor from a pebbly desert in Ethiopia, an international team of scientists today announced their reconstruction of a partial skeleton of the hominid, Ardipithecus ramidus, which they say revolutionizes our understanding of the earliest phase of human evolution.
Competition May Be Reason For Bigger Brain
For the past 2 million years, the size of the human brain has tripled, growing much faster than other mammals. Examining the reasons for human brain expansion, University of Missouri researchers studied three common hypotheses for brain growth: climate change, ecological demands and social competition.
'Peking Man' older than thought; somehow adapted to cold
A new dating method has found that "Peking Man" is around 200,000 years older than previously thought, suggesting he somehow adapted to the cold of a mild glacial period.
Ancestral genome of present-day African great apes & humans had burst of DNA sequence duplication
The genome of the evolutionary ancestor of humans and present-day apes underwent a burst of activity in duplicating segments of DNA, according to a study to be published in Nature Feb 12, the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday.
'Hobbit' fossils represent a new species, concludes University of Minnesota anthropologist
University of Minnesota anthropology professor Kieran McNulty (along with colleague Karen Baab of Stony Brook University in New York) has made an important contribution toward solving one of the greatest paleoanthropological mysteries in recent history -- that fossilized skeletons resembling a mythical "hobbit" creature represent an entirely new species in humanity's evolutionary chain.
Understanding the have-knots: The role of stress in just about everything
Stress, to put it bluntly, is bad for you. It can kill you, in fact. A study now reveals that stress causes deterioration in everything from your gums to your heart and can make you more susceptible to everything from the common cold to cancer.
Ancient DNA reveals that some Neanderthals were redheads
Ancient DNA retrieved from the bones of two Neanderthals suggests that at least some of them had red hair and pale skin, scientists report this week in the journal Science.
Researchers find earliest evidence for modern human behavior in South Africa
Evidence of early humans living on the coast in South Africa, harvesting food from the sea, employing complex bladelet tools and using red pigments in symbolic behavior 164,000 years ago, far earlier than previously documented, is being reported in the Oct. 18 issue of the journal Nature.
Was ability to run early man's Achilles heel?
The earliest humans almost certainly walked upright on two legs but may have struggled to run at even half the speed of modern man, new research suggests.
More Hominid Current Events and Hominid News Articles
 |
Hominids (Neanderthal Parallax) by Robert J. Sawyer (Author) Hominids examines two unique species of people. We are one of those species; the other is the Neanderthals of a parallel world where they became the dominant intelligence. The Neanderthal civilization has reached heights of culture and science comparable to our own, but with radically different history, society and philosophy. Ponter Boddit, a Neanderthal physicist, accidentally pierces the barrier between worlds and is transferred to our universe. Almost immediately recognized as a Neanderthal, but only much later as a scientist, he is quarantined and studied, alone and bewildered, a stranger in a strange land. But Ponter is also befriended—by a doctor and a physicist who share his questing intelligence, and especially by Canadian geneticist Mary Vaughan, a woman with whom he... |
 |
Hominids: A Look Back at Our Ancestors by Helen Roney Sattler (Author), Christopher Santoro (Illustrator) Discusses the various hominids which preceded man as we know him today, as deduced from their fossil remains. |
 |
Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe by Jordi Agustà (Author), Mauricio Anton (Author) This book covers mammalian evolution from the aftermath of the dinosaur extinction to the glacial climax of the Pleistocene epoch, from early lemur-like primates to giant cold-climate adapted mega-mammals, such as the woolly mammoth or mastodon. |
 |
Alien Hominid by O3 Entertainment Alien Hominid combines classic shooter action with 2D side-scrollers and great-looking, basic graphics for a seriously fun gaming experience. In this shooter, the tables are turned -- you're an alien shooting it out against and army of humans. Fight to survive by using the right weapons and your digging skills, and live to make it back it home! |
 |
Hominid Adaptations and Extinctions by David W. Cameron (Author) Hominid Adaptations and Extinctions focuses on the period of 22 to 2.5 million years ago and synthesizes the information currently avaliable on hominid palaeobiology. From 24 to 8 million years ago a large and anatomically diverse number of ape species populated present-day Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. They occupied a wide range of habitats—evergreen forests, bamboo "jungles," swamps, woodlands, and open savannas. Ultimately, these ape populations gave rise to the earliest humans, some 4.5 million years ago. At about 8 million years ago, however, the ape population of the world collapsed, leaving the four relic populations of the great-ape groups we know today: orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee, and humans. The hominid fossil record provides an excellent case study in the... |
 |
Humans (Volume Two of The Neanderthal Parallax) by Robert J. Sawyer (Author) Robert J. Sawyer, the award-winning and bestselling writer, hits the peak of his powers in Humans, the second book of The Neanderthal Parallax, his trilogy about our world and parallel one in which it was the Homo sapiens who died out and the Neanderthals who became the dominant intelligent species. This powerful idea allows Sawyer to examine some of the deeply rooted assumptions of contemporary human civilization dramatically, by confronting us with another civilization, just as morally valid, that has made other choices. In Humans, Neanderthal physicist Ponter Boddit, a character you will never forget, returns to our world and to his relationship with geneticist Mary Vaughan, as cultural exchanges between the two Earths begin. As we see daily life in another present-day world,... |
|
HONEY/THE RIVER by THE AFFAIR/HOMINID | |
 |
Neandertal Cranium Replica by Skullduggery, Inc. This sculptured series consists of four full size species which represent what the general consensus of authorities in the field believe to be the only known links to Homo sapiens. The fifth in the series, Neandertal man, represents an often disputed link in the lineage to modern man. It is from casts, photographs, published diagrams and text describing these reconstructions that sculptor Larry Williams has developed this extraordinary Hominid Series for Skullduggery. |
 |
Two-Million-Year-Old Hominid Skull of Australopithecus Robustus Photographic Poster Print by Kenneth Garrett, 24x18 by Art.com Art.com is the world's largest retailer of art prints, posters, photographs, and framed artwork. With our huge selection of over 400,000 prints, you'll easily find the perfect piece for your home, office, or classroom. Our art is printed on quality paper. When you order framed artwork, the piece is built by our team of in-house professionals. Visit our Amazon store today at www.amazon.com/artdotcom to find Special Offers and search for products based on 'Artist Name' and 'Subject Categories' such as Movie, Music, Vintage, TV, Children, Travel, Kitchen, Museum Art, Animals, Floral, Motivational, and Sports. Art.com is dedicated to providing you with high quality products and service by offering you 100% satisfaction guaranteed. We ship internationally to over 80 countries. Decorate your... |
 |
From Tools to Symbols: From Early Hominids to Modern Humans by Lucinda Backwell (Editor), Francesco d'Errico (Editor) |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |