Tanzanian Tracks Show Man's Early Steps

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Tanzanian Tracks Show Man's Early StepsBy ANNE MILLER (Sept. 16) - By an African volcano, in an area considered the cradle of humanity, 58 footsteps preserved in volcanic soil may hold secrets to the origin of man.The footprints, including one track of 18 steps, have been dated back 120,000 years, making them among the oldest ever discovered that were made by modern humans. "It's humbling to be able to see things like this and to be able to say, 'These are your ancestors,'" said Cynthia Liutkus, an assistant professor of geology at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. She was part of the team that excavated the footprints this summer, after other researchers confirmed their age.Liutkis presented some of their findings from the Ngare Sero site in northern Tanzania last month at a conference there.Briana Pobiner, an outreach and education specialist in the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, assisted with the research."They are really the best evidence we have to really understanding early modern humans," Pobiner said. Other footprints have been found from predecessors of modern humans. Some, dating back millions of years, were made by the species that eventually evolved into Homo sapiens. Others have been found from close relatives of modern humans. In Italy, for example, three sets of footprints near a volcano probably belonged to Neanderthals or their ancestors, according to media reports in 2003.But the footprints found in Tanzania were made by actual humans. The most similar find, the women said, is in South Africa, where some footprints were dated to around 117,000 years ago.The dating methods are reliable within a range of about 10,000 years, Liutkus said, so no one can definitively claim to have found the oldest. But the Tanzania tracks stand out for their number and range -- and their potential to reveal more about the early days of modern humanity than any other footprints yet found.The footprints themselves have been known for a while, Pobiner said. They rest in a layer of ash near a volcano in northern Tanzania. Many thought they probably dated to a few hundred years ago. But the researchers decided to test that theory. An expert at Rutgers University in New Jersey dated the ash layer. The results came in February."We hit the jackpot," Pobiner said. "These are the oldest footprints in east Africa, which is close to the origin of our species."This summer, Liutkus and her team investigated the site.They excavated the prints and -- literally -- walked in the footsteps of ancient humanity. "When we got there at 6 p.m., no one wanted to go to camp. Everyone wanted to go to the site," Liutkus said. "There were some tears."They invited members of the local Masai tribe to join them. One woman insisted on tracing the entire path herself."She wanted to put her foot next to every single footprint," Liutkus said.The feet of a modern man who stood about 6 feet, 2 inches tall matched the largest set of prints perfectly. He had to jog to meet the stride of his ancient counterpart. In all, the footprints range from a modern woman's size 7 to a modern man's 13/14 shoe size.Ultimately, the footprints could reveal a great deal about early people -- their height and weight, how they walked, what they carried as they moved. Pobiner specializes in animal fossils and said she will look for their evidence near the tracks."It's going to give us a huge glimpse into the behavior of Homo sapiens at 120,000 years ago," Liutkus said. _________________________________________________________________I get horny for science stuff.

Ahhhh...and the search for the "missing link" continues.

Originally Posted By: thorAhhhh...and the search for the "missing link" continues. Nope, just a few excited scientists and sensationalist reporters again.Any time that you'd like a lesson on Evolution by Natural Selection, just let me know.

Originally Posted By: bobalicious Originally Posted By: thorAhhhh...and the search for the "missing link" continues. Nope, just a few excited scientists and sensationalist reporters again.Any time that you'd like a lesson on Evolution by Natural Selection, just let me know. That's OK...no time for lessons in unsubstantiated fantasy.

LOL!

OK, I've stopped laughing now.Thor, I'm not sure if you've ever actually given me a reason why you think Natural Selection is untrue.

that's an easy one! Unlike intelligent design, natural selection isn't multi-millennia held belief, carefully detailed in the bible.

Originally Posted By: bobalicious

OK, I've stopped laughing now.

Thor, I'm not sure if you've ever actually given me a reason why you think Natural Selection is untrue.

1. It's a theory that's never been proven
2. There is no method by which natural selection can introduce new genetic material
3. It amounts to no more than the wishful thinking of athiests

That will do for a start. Perhaps one day, mankind will discover the method by which God evolved the species here on earth...but I think that's a long, long way off. We aren't nearly as smart as we like to think we are.

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1. It's a theory that's never been proven

Well.. Nor has the bible...

Its the Faith of us Christians that believe in God, but if we are going by Facts, the stories and events and the existance of God has yet to be proven by us humans. Does it make it any less real? Not for us believers anyways.. same can be said about evolution.

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3. It amounts to no more than the wishful thinking of athiests

And I think thats an unfair statement. Though I might be a Christian, I do believe in evolution/natural selection; its been shown in many species. Who is to say God did not create us (And other animals) to be able to evolve to our/their surroundings?

Originally Posted By: thor

mankind will discover the method by which God evolved the species here on earth

HERESY!!

Originally Posted By: Rad Originally Posted By: thor Originally Posted By: bobaliciousOK, I've stopped laughing now.Thor, I'm not sure if you've ever actually given me a reason why you think Natural Selection is untrue. 1) It's a theory that's never been proven2) There is no method by which natural selection can introduce new genetic material3) It amounts to no more than the wishful thinking of athiestsThat will do for a start. Perhaps one day, mankind will discover the method by which God evolved the species here on earth...but I think that's a long, long way off. We aren't nearly as smart as we like to think we are. The changes in genetic material are attributed to mutation, Doesn't work, in practice. Imagine the odds of a male and female of the same species haveing exactly the same mutation, then finding each other and mating (so as to pass it on)...then the rest of the offspring for all those non-mutated dieing out IN EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE OF EVOLUTION SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME! The odds are better of my flapping my arms and flying to the moon...and that's just for one species.

Originally Posted By: unsupervised Originally Posted By: thormankind will discover the method by which God evolved the species here on earth HERESY!! No...it's me-say.

Originally Posted By: thor

Originally Posted By: bobalicious

OK, I've stopped laughing now.

Thor, I'm not sure if you've ever actually given me a reason why you think Natural Selection is untrue.

1. It's a theory that's never been proven
2. There is no method by which natural selection can introduce new genetic material
3. It amounts to no more than the wishful thinking of athiests

That will do for a start. Perhaps one day, mankind will discover the method by which God evolved the species here on earth...but I think that's a long, long way off. We aren't nearly as smart as we like to think we are.

1 - No theory outside of Mathematics has ever been proven, including Newton's theory of Gravity, Einstein's theories of Relativity, Pasteur's Germ theory of Disease, Dalton's Atomic theory. The term "prove" in the scientific realm is completely different from the its common language usage, just like the word "theory".

These theories, including Evolution by Natural Selection, are fully supported by evidence and are contradicted by none of the evidence. When new evidence is introduced, it either fits in with the theory or if it doesn't, the theory is changed or scrapped. Simple as.

2 - Please read this short page for details. LINK

3 - Some of the best evolutionary biologists, who fully acknowledge the truth of Natural Selection, are Christians. One of the most popular being the Roman Catholic Dr. Ken Miller.

Originally Posted By: thorDoesn't work, in practice. Imagine the odds of a male and female of the same species haveing exactly the same mutation, then finding each other and mating (so as to pass it on)...then the rest of the offspring for all those non-mutated dieing out IN EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE OF EVOLUTION SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME! The odds are better of my flapping my arms and flying to the moon...and that's just for one species. The male and female don't have to have the same mutation and for an emerging mutation its nearly impossible. There is always a chance that the mutation won't exist in the offspring, but very often the mutation is as simple as longer arms or sharper teethe. These traits are constantly passed on from differing parents. I have my mother's hair and my father's nose.And the rest of the population do not have to die off, the mutation simply spreads throughout the population as those with it are given a better chance of survival and therefore are more likely to reproduce and pass it on.

Originally Posted By: bobalicious

Originally Posted By: thor

Doesn't work, in practice. Imagine the odds of a male and female of the same species haveing exactly the same mutation, then finding each other and mating (so as to pass it on)...then the rest of the offspring for all those non-mutated dieing out IN EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE OF EVOLUTION SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME! The odds are better of my flapping my arms and flying to the moon...and that's just for one species.

The male and female don't have to have the same mutation and for an emerging mutation its nearly impossible.

Then at best, the chances are 50/50 of it being passed on (all other things being equal). But....

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And the rest of the population do not have to die off, the mutation simply spreads throughout the population as those with it are given a better chance of survival and therefore are more likely to reproduce and pass it on.

Now you've introduced another variable. Are all mutations automatically benificial? Comepletely random mutations would suggest a 50/50 possibility...which, coupled with the above, put as back to where we were before (possibility-wise). But the reality is that mutations actually observed are very rarely benificial. By nature, they are random and without any pre-determined direction. So, the odds are much worse than even I initially considered them to be.

This also makes the case that, when these changes are made, that there is an intelligence guiding them so that they ARE beneficial. After all, how is a random mutation supposed to know it's supposed to be beneficial? It wouldn't be random then, would it. Pretty rediculous. But no, the evidence of changes for the benefit of species is indicative of a guiding (rather than random) force in these changes...which, of course, suggests a creator.

Originally Posted By: bobaliciousThese theories, including Evolution by Natural Selection, are fully supported by evidence and are contradicted by none of the evidence. If you read my post above, you'll see they are contradicted by simple common sense. Common sense that has been ignored for so long it is believed, by those scientists you quote, to be irrelevant. To be honest, it's really just sad that they've wasted their lives because they believed, without question, what they were told in school.

thor's disbelief in the power of natural selection is probably tied not only to his belief in the creation myth but also to that odd concept of the world being only a few millenia in age.Time is evolution's greatest allyI feel sorry for him. We live in a world of endless wonder and possibilities waiting to be discovered. He lives in a box.

Originally Posted By: RadOne very important thing you seem to have forgotten in your mathematical equation, there Einstein:And, God said, let there be ..............Evolution and Creationism do NOT have to be mutually exclusive.If you paid any attention at all to what I've posted on the subject over the years, you'd know that I agree with you. It's "Natural Selection" that equates to an athiests dreams and land of fantasy.

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belief in the creation myth
what happened to respecting people's beliefs though?

Originally Posted By: unsupervisedI feel sorry for him. We live in a world of endless wonder and possibilities waiting to be discovered. He lives in a box. It is different to be rooted in truth than it is to be in a box. And from where I stand rooted, you are adrift in a sea of self-delusion...like a boat that slipped from its mooring and is now lost at sea. Clinging to any illusion that presents itself in hopes of once again finding dry land...and clinging for so long, eventually believing one has found dray land on a soggy pillow that has fallen overboard.