Denisovans

[uniface]

This may be old and I just missed it. In case not, fascinating !

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/ ... reeve-text

[Cognito]

When the researchers compared the Denisovan genome with those of various modern human populations, they found no trace of it in Russia or nearby China, or anywhere else, for that matter—except in the genomes of New Guineans, other people from islands in Melanesia, and Australian Aborigines. On average their genomes are about 5 percent Denisovan. Negritos in the Philippines have as much as 2.5 percent.

Putting all the data together, Pääbo and his colleagues came up with a scenario to explain what might have occurred. Sometime before 500,000 years ago, probably in Africa, the ancestors of modern humans split off from the lineage that would give rise to Neanderthals and Denisovans. (The most likely progenitor of all three types was a species called Homo heidelbergensis.) While our ancestors stayed in Africa, the common ancestor of Neanderthals and Denisovans migrated out. Those two lineages later diverged, with the Neanderthals initially moving west into Europe and the Denisovans spreading east, perhaps eventually populating large parts of the Asian continent.

Milford Wolpoff, University of Michigan, proponent of the Multiregional Hypothesis, suspects that the Denisovans are a latter day remnant of Asian H. erectus instead. Ref: personal correspondence.

It is interesting that our forebears were able to cross-breed with a multitude of archaic types, indicating that those types were every bit as 'human' as we are. The article mentions '3 types of humans' while there is apparently a fourth, indicating a recent surviving archaic population in Africa, whose genetics live on in a man from South Carolina, see: http://news.discovery.com/human/genetic ... 130307.htm.

And the above doesn't even consider the Hobbit (H. floriensis) which could be a descendent of H. erectus or A. afarensis. It's getting crowded!

[Minimalist]

http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_1.htm

The bodies of heidelbergensis in Europe tended to be compact, as would be expected for people living in cold climates. This shape reduces the loss of heat. Male heidelbergensis averaged about 5 feet 9 inches tall (175 cm) and 136 pounds (62 kg). Females averaged 5 feet 2 inches tall (157 cm) and 112 pounds (51 kg). This is only slightly smaller than most people today. With an average of 1200 cm.3, heidelbergensis brains were only 10% smaller than people today as well, but their heads did not have a modern appearance. They had large brow ridges and low foreheads. Their brain cases also were more elongated from front to back than in Homo sapiens. In these characteristics, heidelbergensis was still more like Homo erectus than us.

The average height for American males is 5 ft 9.9 inches, while the same for females is 5 ft 4.3 inches.

It strikes me as odd that heidelbergensis would attain the same physical stature as modern males. Roman legionaries had a minimum height requirement of 4' 11".

When I was 12 my class visited the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport Connecticut. I was mesmerized by an Egyptian mummy. The body was tiny and being a child I assumed he was a child but the info card said he was the high priest of something or other and estimated his age at 35...which seemed ancient to me, then! But I couldn't get over the idea that people this tiny had built the pyramids. At 16 the NY World's Fair was in full blast and there was a replica of Columbus' Santa Maria. I started down the hatch and almost broke my neck. A "crewman" said "watch your step" and I looked at the stairway and said "where are the steps?" He pointed out that the ship was an exact replica and people were much smaller in Columbus' day. The step did not cover even half of my foot. From that time one I have always noted the sizes of uniforms or armor in museums and the idea that people were smaller until quite recently in historical terms has never left me.

So, it is disquieting to see heidelbergensis approaching our height.

[Cognito]

The average Englishman at Jamestown was about 5 feet tall (including Captain John Smith). On the contrary, many of the tribal chieftans were over 6 feet tall and well-built, appearing gigantic. Much can be said for the English short stature being due to poor health conditions in Europe at the time, living in close quarters in less than hygienic conditions. The French, Spanish, Italians, etc. were no different.

Europeans were subject to constant famines courtesy of crop failures brought on by the Little Ice Age with ensuing diseases that impacted immuno-suppressed populations. It ain't a pretty picture! (smells bad also)

[Minimalist]

I believe Mann touched on the relative size differential between Europeans and Native Americans in 1491. One of the factors he discussed was the essentially grain-based diet of Europeans.

[E.P. Grondine]

Six years ago I took a lot of crap for using the term "Heidelbergensis"

I do not know why, but I am enjoying watching others who are now faced with this problem.

[Minimalist]

Why, E.P.?

[Cognito]

Six years ago I took a lot of crap for using the term "Heidelbergensis"

Hey EP, in mimicking Min ... why would you take crap for the term? Heidelbergensis would be an obvious progenitor.

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi min, cogito -

Because of my stroke, I was unable to set out the footnotes at the bottom of each page.

The taphonomic contrvoersy was covered in one of those footnotes.

[Minimalist]

I'm starting to appreciate Dever's tactic of discussing his sources within the text rather than footnoting all over the damn place. Perhaps that's because my eyesight has trouble with tiny fonts?

[E.P. Grondine]

I'm starting to appreciate Dever's tactic of discussing his sources within the text rather than footnoting all over the damn place. Perhaps that's because my eyesight has trouble with tiny fonts?

I want to do an iBook, where the reader gets to choose the font they are comfortable with.
Aside from that, I myself now need a much larger screen.
Oh well.

[Minimalist]

Sucks getting old, doesn't it?

It merely beats the only other available option.