A million years BC

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Dave

Hill Dweller
Sep 17, 2003
6,019
9
Brigantia
I was staying in a hotel in South Kensington a couple of weeks ago, and nipped over to the museum of natural history, where they had a 'millions years BC' exhibition.

They had done it, with the sounds of the wilderness, and filmed backdrops of forests on the walls as you navigated through, to try and make you feel as though you were actually there. It was temperate forest, with hyenas calling and smilodons and wolves, very atmospheric.

There was a 40,000 year old Neanderthal skull, from the UK, [a lot of us in the UK have 1-3% neanderthal DNA]

But very interesting was the evidence of homo heidelbergensis, who were living and hunting in Britain a staggering one million years ago. They had stone tools, axes, and hunted large game like rhinoceros.

They looked very much like we do. They are the ancestors of both neanderthals and homosapiens. We evolved from them.

Took a few photos with the phone.

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Dave

Hill Dweller
Sep 17, 2003
6,019
9
Brigantia
Just ordered the book for this, as its got good reviews.

HERE. [And it was very interesting. I could have spent longer in there.]

[video=youtube;-poz-zpGa9Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-poz-zpGa9Y[/video]
 

Palaeocory

Forager
Homo heidelbergensis is my favourite hominin :)

Apparently the exhibition has casts of the newest discovered member of our species, Homo naledi. Discovered only 2 years ago and announced just this year, with 3D scanning we're already able to visit with these bones!
 

Klenchblaize

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 25, 2005
2,610
135
65
Greensand Ridge
I hope they include the bikini.

There was a time when she was the favourite hominid for many of us.

The following droll observation by Ray Harryhausen, monarch of stop frame animation, summed this up when referring to her role in the 1966 film One Million Years B.C.

“If women looked like Raquel Welsh a million years ago we sure as hell have regressed!”
 

Dave

Hill Dweller
Sep 17, 2003
6,019
9
Brigantia
Homo heidelbergensis is my favourite hominin :)

Apparently the exhibition has casts of the newest discovered member of our species, Homo naledi. Discovered only 2 years ago and announced just this year, with 3D scanning we're already able to visit with these bones!

Seems to be a bit of contention on that one Cory, mind you having watched time team, you archeologists, never seem to agree on anything do you? :) :p
 

Palaeocory

Forager
Seems to be a bit of contention on that one Cory, mind you having watched time team, you archeologists, never seem to agree on anything do you? :) :p

Very true, archaeologists certainly aren't a unified bunch, and the human evolution crew is no exception. But then archaeology is so many things - geology, biology, genetics, anthropology... so everyone does things differently. The naledi discovery has brought about quite a lot of debate though, even for this discipline. How they published their data, how they might have been a bit 'fast and loose' with their excavation methods, the whole 'rock star' style press releases and sensationalism... it was a bit wierd. But... hooray, new bones!
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Do you not think though that someone has to shake things up at times ?
When Lee finally presented to the 'old guard', and took on every question and answered them, they applauded him. Even Leakey who organised that conference invited him to it.
That said, rambunctious youngsters become the old guard themselves if they're not careful :)
In their time Leakey's parents were considered oddly too, and look how that settled.

The no date issue is going to rumble on and on and on though I reckon, even if they do find a way to tie it in to something there will be quibblers.

M
 

demographic

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 15, 2005
4,691
710
-------------
Studies into DNA is changing the way we prove theories in quite a few disciplines and the established old guard sometimes has to go back to the drawing board in the face of overwlelming evidence.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion.
 

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