Yet another branch of the human tree, found in a cave on Luzon, Philippines.
What amazes me is how they got there. Easter Island had Polynesians travel great distances in the hope of finding land. And almost went extinct because they weren't smart enough to maintain what they had.
When seas were lower during certain periods, the distances would not have been as far, & there may have been islands to stop on.
@Carin I have read they also knew how to navigate by the stars and could even smell land.
@JackPedigo The Hawaiians as well. But when there were no more trees huge enough to make the huge voyaging canoes much of that knowledge & wisdom was probably lost due to lack of use. Mature, straight trees are definitely finite resources on islands.
@Carin If you are talking about Easter Island a lot more than history and culture was lost. Civil war broke out and it has been fairly well determined cannibalism ensued. There was previously a forest of trees on the islands and when they went people could no longer make boats and fish. Kevin Costner actually made a movie (a bad one) about that called "Rapa Nui."
@JackPedigo I was actually thinking of Hawai'i where I once lived. After the initial arrival they continued to visit back & forth until about 500 years ago if I recalled correctly. Then the voyages stopped & Hawai'i remained in isolation until the whites came. The best guess for this was that they could no longer make canoes large enough for the longest journeys, although they still traveled between the various Hawai'ian Islands, though not always as often as you'd think. Pronunciation of some words even began to diverge on the different islands.
@Carin I am curious where the Polynesians came from. What I have read it was among the the various islands in Indonesia.
@JackPedigo I forgot what I read about that, but it was not what I expected... I suppose it depends how far back you look too.
Islands have a tendency to cause mammal species to become smaller. Fewer resources, so its evolutionarily advantageous to become smaller. Humans are subject to evolutionary principles, may explain the smaller size.
Example: minature mammoth on islands off California coast. (Catalina Is.).
thats the explanation they always use for homo florensis. they had the javanese rhino and elephant which were both minis to point to for recent examples and the cave florensis was found within had a bunch of mini-elephant bones.
@JeffMesser. exactly. I concur that florensis is probably a product of being on an island as is luzonensis.
I hope to hear more about this. when I was trying to list all the hominids and added like homo heidelbergensis and homo florensis I had noted that the smithsonian people's graphics listed one for Luzon P.I. but unnamed. I try to use them (the smithsonian) for info like that because they're always at the front it seems on this subject. I am following their updates as they collaborate with the chinese comparing gene sequences of their population in the mDNA for hints of superarchaic homo erectus that split off before heidelbergensis.
Posted by PiratefishSeasons greetings, you heathens.
Posted by SurfpirateA photographic collection of pagan costumes associated with the winter solstice. [dangerousminds.net]
Posted by MoonTigerIIAncient Evenings Fun!
Posted by AnonySchmoose[cell.
Posted by AnonySchmoose[cell.
Posted by AnonySchmoose[cell.
Posted by EyesThatSmileThis sculptor is amazing. [boredpanda.com]
Posted by DruviusWell preserved 500 year old ship found at bottom of Baltic Sea. Way cool find, hope we have the means to properly investigate it. [sciencealert.com]
Posted by qpr81there's a small island in front of the temple site and they found artifacts even there.
Posted by qpr81there's a small island in front of the temple site and they found artifacts even there.
Posted by qpr81there's a small island in front of the temple site and they found artifacts even there.
Posted by qpr81the hole in this image -according to the guide- was a window to let the sun rays hit a certain spot announcing the summer/winter etc.
Posted by qpr81Trajan's column in Rome. Shame they put a pope on top of it. Even though this is a monument raised over a genocide it's still something worth seeing.
Posted by qpr81Trajan's column in Rome. Shame they put a pope on top of it. Even though this is a monument raised over a genocide it's still something worth seeing.
Posted by qpr81Trajan's column in Rome. Shame they put a pope on top of it. Even though this is a monument raised over a genocide it's still something worth seeing.
Posted by qpr81Ħaġar Qim temple in Malta. Stunning even if a bit of walk...