orbis quintus

Here’s the abstract of a recent paper that argues that the Dmanisi hominids of Georgia are closer to Homo erectus than Homo habilis:

Anatomical descriptions, comparative studies and evolutionary significance of the hominin skulls from Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia. G. Philip Rightmire, David Lordkipanidze, & Abesalom Vekua. Evidence for ancient hominin occupation in Eurasia comes from Dmanisi in the Georgian Caucasus. Stratigraphic and sedimentological arguments, geochemical observations, paleomagnetic sampling and radiometric dates all point to the conclusion that bones and artifacts were deposited at this site during a brief interval following the close of the Olduvai Subchron (1.77 million years ago). In this report we present further descriptive and comparative studies of the D2280 braincase, the D2282 partial cranium, now linked with the D211 mandible, and the skull D2700/D2735. The crania have capacities ranging from 600 cm3 to 775 cm3. Supraorbital tori and other vault superstructures are only moderately developed. The braincase is expanded laterally in the mastoid region, but the occiput is rounded. The pattern of sagittal keeling is distinctive. D2700 displays a prominent midfacial profile and has a very short nasoalveolar clivus. Also, the M3 crowns are reduced in size. Although there is variation probably related to growth status and sex dimorphism, it is appropriate to group the Dmanisi hominins together. With the possible exception of the large D2600 mandible, the individuals are sampled from one paleodeme. This population resembles Homo habilis in brain volume and some aspects of craniofacial morphology, but many of these features can be interpreted as symplesiomorphies. Other discrete characters and measurements suggest that the Dmanisi skulls are best placed with H. erectus. There are numerous similarities to individuals from the Turkana Basin in Kenya, but a few features link Dmanisi to Sangiran in Java. Some traits expressed in the Dmanisi assemblage appear to be unique. Reconstructing the evolutionary relationships of these ancient populations of Africa and Eurasia is difficult, as the record is quite patchy, and determination of character polarities is not straightforward. Nevertheless, the evidence from anatomical analysis and measurements supports the hypothesis that Dmanisi is close to the stem from which H. erectus evolved.

The link came from the Palanth forum.

I haven’t pruned or added much the sidebar links in ages. In the previous blog, it was my essentially my bookmark page to read everyone, but that use is obsolete. The entire concept of sidebar links to outside blogs may be obsolete, but it still needs to be a little more up to date.

Gimme a head’s up in the comments if you think that i oughta be linking you, as my bookmarks are a mess, and my memory is a sieve.

In other news, i secured three copies of the Scooter Libby novel, The Apprentice, for a few dollars, where i had noticed them at a remaindered bookstore a few weeks back. Thanks to some miscommunication, they were not listed on eBay that very same evening. Five days later, with St. Martin reprinting the book after all, i’m stuck with three copies of a book whose selling points are the fucking the corpse of a deer and a bear raping a girl.

ArchaeoBlog has a synopsis of a new paper titled Resolving an Anomalous Radiocarbon Determination on Mastodon Bone from Monte Verde, Chile, by Debra George, John Southon, and R.E. Taylor. Two fragments of the same bone were found at different levels, and initially had wildly varying dates. The study was going to examine whether extremely low collagen levels in one of the fragments caused the variance, but the collagen level of the more recently discovered fragment was not low enough to support this. Curiously, both fragments were carbon tested again, and both conform to the older date of 12,460 ago now.

It’s far more technical than i’m describing it. ArchaeoBlog reports that the paper is not online yet.

If this site is from the 3rd millenium BC, then is it really Aryan? Isn’t this a little west of their range at that time? Doesn’t the time and place fit more with the Kura-Araxes culture? Or do the funerary goods point to something more Aryan? (They did say these people were nomads.) I don’t know anything. I just have a lot of questions, especially after that N1a study. How far were the people who carried this dispersed, and why and by whom were they displaced?

YEREVAN, Armenia – Archeologists said Wednesday they have unearthed burial mounds dating back to the third millennium B.C. which they believe contain remains and trinkets from ancient Aryan nomads.

Historian Hakob Simonian said Wednesday that the four mounds were among 30 discovered about 35 miles west of the Armenian capital Yerevan, containing beads made of agate, carnelian and as well as the remains of what appears to be a man, aged 50-55.

Also found were remains of domesticated horses and glazed pottery appearing to show chariots, Simonian said.

The Aryans, who later became known as Persians, were largely grassland nomads who settled in what is today Iran and eventually in parts of India.

I just got back from an amazing concert here in Salt Lake City: Reigning Sound and Detroit Cobras. Two of my favorite rocknroll towns (Detroit and Memphis) with some of the best bands currently on the scene. Reiging Sound played their loud and fast set, mostly based on their last year’s album “Too Much Guitar”. They did play some of the older stuff too, say “Since When”, but it was faster and louder with the country mannerisms only left in traces. The rest was straight forward blues based garage rock. Greg/Craig was god-like with his guitar rifs and solos, ticking his face along the way. He also surprised me to appear as a guitarist for Detroit Cobras as well! He really brought something special to their sound. They playing together once again erased the boundary and rivalty between the two towns. Rachel was so incredibly sexy with her flawless voice and quite a bit of attitude towards somewhat silly audience. I think she’s of Hungarian origin, she really has a lot in common with Mariska Veres… They had some sound problems in the beginning but somewhere after “I Keep On Holding On” somebody turned the knobs where they should be. The crowd was dancing and don’t miss this show in your town.

Here’s the fresh sound bite. I apoligize for the low sound quality.