Lauren Gray
Wilford, John N. "Skull Fossil
Suggests Simpler Human Lineage." Nytimes.com/. New York Times, 17
Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.
For years, scientists have found
remains of species that are believed to be part of the human’s evolutionary line.
Each new skeletal piece is has been believed to be a completely different
species. Now, after studying a new skull that was discovered 8 years ago, this
theory appears to be inaccurate. A new theory has surfaced that, just like
humans, species of hominids can each have individual bone structure and facial
features. The skull was discovered in Dmanisi in Georgia along with 4 other
hominid skulls. These skulls were believed to belong to the same species of
hominid, the differences between them were “no more pronounced than those
between any given five modern humans” (pg 1).
This new skull has “primitive
features: a long, apelike face, large teeth and a tiny braincase, about one
size of that of a modern human being.” (pg 1) These features were unlike those
of previously discovered. The size of the braincase disproved some theories
that hominids needed a large brain to get out of Africa. The 5 skulls are
believed to belong to the Homo evolutionary line, possibly Homo habilis or
early Homo erectus. The skull discussed in this article is the most complete
early Homo skull ever found.
The circumstances under which the
skulls were discovered us also gives us clues into the lives of these hominids.
They were discovered in caves, believed to have been dragged there as the pray
of some large animal, such as a saber-toothed cat or a giant leopard. This
means that early Homos had to live in fear of these animals, as prey rather
than predators.
The discovery leads to many incites
into evolution and the way that scientists study new specimens. For example,
these skulls were discovered together. If they had been discovered in varying
locations scientists might have pronounced them as being different species, but
because they were found together they have been classified as being the same.
This idea of varying facial features in hominids can rewrite the entirety of
human evolution. Our evolutions could be much simpler than scientists
previously anticipated. This particular skull shape also provided information
about the amount of intelligence for the migration of our ancestors. It is
interesting how one little skull can change the entire course of years of
research.
I thought that this article was a
great source of facts about the progression of our understanding of evolution,
but some things were a bit lacking. I would have liked to have read more about
what the previous theories were and why. I also thought that this article was
very jumbled and covered a lot of topics in such a short article. I had to read
it more than twice to fully understand it. The author jumped between topics a
lot. I think that the author could have written this article in a much more
organized fashion that didn’t make me feel like I was playing mental hopscotch.
I liked the concept, which is what drove me to choose this article, despite how
confusing it was to read.
When looking for an article, I also came across this one and I too was interested in this topic. One aspect of your review that was well presented was the summary. Unlike what you said about the article, you presented your summary information in a very organized manner. In addition, I liked your critique on the article because I agree that the author jumped around in topics a lot. Lastly, I liked how you took actual quotes from the article and cited them because you gave me a better understanding of what the article was discussing.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that interested me from this review was that scientists could draw conclusions about evolution based on the location of the skull. Like you said, since the skulls were found in a cave clumped together, it suggests that they were hunted, and were not the hunters. In addition, I learned that this discovery could make the idea of our evolution much simpler, since some stages of human progression could be consolidated.
One suggestion could be to expand more on how this discovery could affect society as a whole, since that is basically the only topic in which you did not go into great detail. However, there may have not been enough information to expand on. All in all, the way in which you wrote the review and summarized the article was well done.
I loved it, for of all. I was completely immersed in your article and to be honest, I'm not the biggest evolution fan so thats a lot coming from me to say that I really enjoyed reading your article. Besides it being very interesting as a topic, I thought you wrote it in a very mannered and concise way. I wouldn't have been as good as summarizing an article as confusing as the one you did and I really did appreciate the summary because it made much more sense. One other thing I enjoyed tremendously about your current event is where you put the quotes. They weren't randomly placed in the middle of the paragraph like I've seen other people do. They were fitted into the sentence very nicely and it made it seem like you almost had an interview with the researchers themselves!
ReplyDeleteSomething I found interesting was that hominids didn't need such an evolved brain to migrate from Africa. I thought they would have to a lot more evolved to take a such a big step into other parts of the world. One thing I didn't know was that hominids had to live in fear during their lifetimes. I really would have thought they were more organized and experienced at defending themselves.
A suggestion for your current event that I would give you would be to go deeper into how this affects society like Emma said above, but to also maybe talk a little bit about the researchers that found these skulls in the first place. What past experiences they had, what led them to find these skulls, etc. Overall, great article and excellent writing. Really enjoyed reading this, once again.