Why Is Forbidden Archeology?

This Fleeting World is a small summary of ‘big history’. David Christian’s book is a mere 92 pages long with an included 9-page prequel (on topics during the first years without humans such as Earth’s creation and more) and 16-page appendix on the book’s use in school, historical periodization, and a 4-page list of sources. With around 120 pages, this short book seems to be the perfect size to represent how our species’ history is only miniscule fraction compared to the history of that around us. In a world that has been around for over four and a half billion years old (6) in a universe that is 13.8 billion years old (1), homo sapiens have been around for only approximately 250,000 of those years (9). It seems impossible, though, to fit those hundreds of thousands of years into the modest text. However, Christian does the impossible and makes a well written short ‘big history’. Where many other historians before him have failed at making one, Christian’s book, This Fleeting World, summarizes history from the big-bang all

Evidence is concrete examples of raw materials – how we interpret them is an important key when studying history. Evolution and the Kennewick Man will be discussed.

Kathryn Schulz argues in “Evidence”, a chapter of her book called Being Wrong, that we need to “learn to actively combat our inductive biases: to deliberately seek out evidence that challenges our beliefs, and to take seriously such evidence when we come across it” (Schulz, 377”). By attending to counterevidence we can avoid making errors in our conclusions.

A. C. H., was discovered in the loft space above the office of the Keeper of Zoology—the office Hinton had occupied from 1936 to 1945. This was the first concrete evidence implicating Hinton in the Piltdown hoax (Gardiner, 2003). Contained in the trunk were x teeth similarly stained to the materials discovered at Piltdown I, while several other materials, such as elephant and hippopotami teeth and bone fragments, had been whitened similar in fashion to the ‘cricket bat’ found at the Piltdown II site; the cricket bat having been made form an elephant femur. Hinton had experimented with bone and tooth staining (De Groote et al., 2016) predominantly staining them with iron to match the gravels of a Pleistocene era (Gardiner, 2003)… Also among Hinton’s effects, were eight human teeth that had been stained with iron, chromium, and manganese (Gardiner & Currant, 1996), similar to those of the Piltdown site. When the fluorine dating method was implemented this further incriminated Hinton as the findings from the Piltdown I site evidenced “a recent ape jaw and canine had been artificially modified, stained and planted at Piltdown I, along with parts of a similarly stained recent human skull” (De Groote, 2016, p. 4). The method Hinton practiced (evidenced by the findings in his trunk) was unique to him—a signature—therefore, implicating him as the Piltdown

Not only do we have a tendency to ignore and misinterpret evidence that conflicts with our own views; we also have tendency to look for and recognize only evidence that confirms them. We tend to look for confirming rather than disconfirming evidence, even though the latter can often be far more revealing.

The importance of the research being done based on this find is explained within this same article in a quote from Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, London saying, “A find like this does make us question the trees people have built up of human evolution”(Noble, 2002). Not only is finding this skull phenomenal, but the implications it holds are tremendous. The idea that one fossil such as this can change the way we have thought about human evolution is a huge deal that deserves much research and even much speculation and dispute.

One issue with pre-Clovis sites is that no human remains have been found, the oldest directly dated human osteological remains from the Americas date to about 11,000 14C year B.P., which does not fall into the pre-Clovis timeline. But the presence of human DNA is a very significant find, one that could be as convincing as thousands of stone tools and human bones. Out of the 14 coprolites found, all of them tested positive for human mitochondrial DNA, but since they were not excavated under sterile conditions, there are doubts about the validity of the DNA. So, a group of scientists decided to test these coprolites to rule out possible contamination and evolutionary biologist M. Thomas P. Gilbert reported that out of the 14 samples, 3 of them show positive results for human DNA not belonging to the excavation team. All of the coprolites “produced consistent dates, ranging from approximately 1300 to 12,300 14C yr B.P., and three of the coprolites pre-dated 11,000 14C yr

For many years there has been a debate over where modern humans originated from. The first theory, out of Africa, discusses modern humans evolving in Africa. They migrated out to Eurasia and as the time went on their species evolved independently and developed into distinct species. All other human populations were eventually replaced with no interbreeding involved in the process and Homo sapiens had successfully dominated the rest of the world. On the other hand, the second theory, regional continuity, says that our earliest hominid ancestors had departed Africa and spread into other parts of the world later evolving into modern human beings. In this paper I will discuss the Regional continuity theory and elaborating on the Out of Africa theory. Evidence based on fossils, artifacts, and other crucial components will be discussed. Based on the evidence found I will come to a conclusion as to which theory I think best fits the origins of humans.

timeline of modern humans, Homo sapiens, and how long they have been in existence. According to mainstream science, popular belief holds that the history of our species is confirmed to be confined to the past 12,000 years. This figure is a culmination based on what we know about evolution and what we have been able to gather through fossil analyzation and dating of artifacts as well as human remains. Although the subject of human antiquity, also referred to as human origins, does not prompt a great deal of debate there may actually be the need for some. A reexamination of the notion that humans have only existed a mere 12,000 years should be considered as there may be evidence to support a much greater antiquity of modern human life. Alternative researchers have offered up evidence of “forbidden archeology” that contradicts the mainstream beliefs of human origins, however these discoveries seem to have been swept under the scientific rug.

“How old is the oldest human fossil?,” If you had said about 700,000 years, you would probably have been right until just recently that is, “The September 1998 issue of Discover magazine”, reports that Ernesto Abbate, a geology professor from Florence, Italy, has just discovered the fossilized skull and teeth of a humanlike creature who might have lived, as far back as, one million years ago. Calling this creature Buia Man after the city in northeastern Africa where the remains were found. Prof. Abbate thinks he has discovered the earliest fossil that displays physical features associated with Homo sapiens, the species to which modern humans belong. Moreover, Buia Man says, Prof. Abbate also shows physical

Human evolution is the gradual process in which people, or Homo sapiens, originated from apelike ancestors. Scientific evidence, particularly in the form of fossils and secondary remains, show that the physical and behavioral traits shared by all people evolved over a period of approximately six million years. Humans are primates. Both genetic and physical similarities show that humans and the great apes (large apes) of Africa, chimpanzees (including bonobos, or so-called “pygmy chimpanzees”) and gorillas share a common ancestor that lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. The volume of fossils found in Africa suggests that most evolution occurred there and is likely the place of origin for early humans. This brings to fruition the “out of Africa” theory, also called the “single-origin hypothesis.”

There has been a great deal of heated debate for the last few decades about where modern Homo sapiens originated. From the battle grounds, two main theories emerged. One theory, labeled “Out-of-Africa” or “population replacement” explains that all modern Homo sapiens evolved from a common Homo erectus ancestor in Africa 100,000 years ago. The species began to spread and replace all other archaic human-like populations around 35,000 to 89,000 years ago. The rivaling opinion, entitled the “regional continuity” theory or “multiregional evolution” model refutes this theory and states modern humans evolved from various species of Homo erectus who interbred with others that lived in

Humans have existed on Earth for approximately 3.4 million years. The oldest known human ancestor is "Lucy," an Australopithecus. Over this extensive period of time, humans have evolved significantly. Homo Sapiens have grown from 3 to almost 6 feet (average), lost most of the body hair, became leaner and adapted to walking. Humans have come a long way, from Australopithecus to Homo sapiens, from living in trees to living in cities. Slowly, through hundreds of thousands of years, we mutated over and over again, natural selection ensuring that no destructive mutations continue. From the slow evolution, four distinctive species emerged and died out, each giving way to its ' descendant: Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens Neanderthalesis, and Homo sapiens Sapiens.

According to physical evidence, and theories, scholars have concluded upon a whole hypothesis. Based on their knowledge and belief, modern humans diverged from Homo sapiens between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago specifically in Africa, that between 125,000 and 60,000 years ago members of Homo sapiens left Africa, and that these

Knowledge is considered accurate when there is sufficient evidence that it is the truth. Over time, methods of verifying the accuracy of knowledge change. As learners, we often equate accuracy with the value of knowledge, however, the value of accuracy is dependent on the area of knowledge under consideration. Today, accuracy in the natural sciences is vital as any error can be catastrophic. In 1986, a flawed reactor and human error caused the Chernobyl disaster that exposed millions to radiation and had significant long term impacts. However in history, complete “accuracy” is almost unattainable. As historians cannot first-hand experience past events, they can only try to make connections with available sources to suggest what happened