Neanderthals were separate species, new study finds

A new, simplified family tree of humanity has dealt a blow to those who contend that the enigmatic hominids known as Neanderthals intermingled with our forebears.

Neanderthals were a separate species to Homo sapiens, as anatomically modern humans are known, rather than offshoots of the same species, the new organigram published Sunday by the journal Nature declares.

The method, invented by evolutionary analysts in Argentina, marks a break with the conventional technique by which anthropologists chart the twists and turns of the human odyssey.

That technique typically divides the genus Homo into various classifications according to the shape of key facial features -- "flat-faced," "protruding-faced" and so on.

Reconciling these diverse classifications from a tiny number of specimens spanning millions of years has led to lots of claims and counter-claims, as well as much confusion in the general public, about how we came to be here.

Various species of Homo have been put up for the crown of being our direct ancestor, only to find themselves dismissed by critics as failed branches of the Homo tree.

The authors of the new study, led by Rolando Gonzalez-Jose at the Patagonian National Centre at Puerto Madryn, Argentina, say the problem with the conventional method is that, under evolution, facial traits do not appear out of the blue but result from continuous change.

So the arrival of a specimen that has some relatively minor change of feature as compared to others should not be automatically held up as representing a new species, they argue.

The team goes back over the same well-known set of specimens, but uses a different approach to analyse it, focussing in particular on a set of fundamental yet long-term changes in skull shape.

They took digital 3D images of the casts of 17 hominid specimens as well as from a gorilla, chimpanzee and H. sapiens.

The images were then crunched through a computer model to compare four fundamental variables -- the skull's roundness and base, the protrusion of the jaw, and facial retraction, which is the position of the face relative to the cranial base.

When other phylotogenic techniques are used, the outcome is a family tree whose main lines closely mirror existing ones but offers a clearer view as to how the evolutionary path unfolded.

The paper suggests that, after evolving from the hominid Australopithecus afarensis, the first member of Homo, H. habilis, arose between 1.5 and 2.1 million years ago.

We are direct linear descendants of H. habilis. H. sapiens started to show up around 200,000 years ago.

None of the species currently assigned to Homo are discarded, though.

On the other hand, the Neanderthals are declared "chronological variants inside a single biological heritage," in other words, evolutionary cousins but still a separate species from us.

The squat, low-browed Neanderthals lived in parts of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East for around 170,000 but traces of them disappear some 28,000 years ago, their last known refuge being Gibraltar.

Why they died out is a matter of furious debate, because they co-existed alongside anatomically modern man.

Some opinions aver that the Neanderthals were slowly wiped out by the smarter H. sapiens in the competition for resources.

Other contend that we and the Neanderthals were more than just kissing cousins. Interbreeding took place, which explains why the Neanderthal line died out, but implies that we could have Neanderthal inheritage in our genome today, goes this theory.

The Mysterious Ram Setu

The space images taken by NASA reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. This recently discovered bridge currently named as Adam's Bridge, made of chain of shoals, is 30 km long. This information is a crucial because it supports the mysterious legend called Ramayana, which was supposed to have taken place in "Tredha Yuga" (according to Hindu mythology more than 1,700,000 years ago). The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge's age is also almost equivalent.

585 New Marine Species in the dark water of the Antarctica

Carnivorous Sponges, 585 new species of crustaceans and hundreds of new worms are discovered by scientists in the dark water of the Antarctica. This discovery have given scientists a new light about the evolution of marine species and how they can adapt to changes in climate and environment. Among the new creatures, the scientists have found a gourd-shaped carnivorus sponge called Chondrocladia, free swimming-worms and 674 species of isopod of which 585 species had never been seen before. The unique species tend to be the kind that do not spread easily , which sggests the deep, cold southern oceans may have been the source of many types of marine life.

Treasure of the 'Pirates of the Atlantic' : The Richest Sunken Treasure Ever Discovered :Worth USD 500 Million!

Odyssey Marine, a marine exploration company, has struck gold- the biggest shipwreck treasure in history worth estimated USD 500 million. The find contains over 500,000 pieces from the Colonial Era, and each piece is estimated to bring $1000 from collectors. "I don't know of anything equal or comparable to it.", said Nick Bruyer, a coin expert who has seen coins found in the wreckage. He noted a range of varieties and dates of coins that are probably uncirculated.

The real life sunken treasure is discovered in the Atlantic Ocean, in a high traffic area where many colonial era vessels were believed to have been sunken. The site is near the English Channel, located about 40 miles off England's coastline. Because the shipwreck was found in a shipping lane where many colonial-era vessels went down, there is still some uncertainty about its nationality, size and age, although evidence points to a specific known shipwreck.

Calling the project "Black Swan," Odyssey isn't releasing details about the coins for security reasons. Nor they are talking about the types, denominations and country of origin of the coins. Till now (20.05.2007), they only indicated an announcement would be forthcoming. Court records indicate the coins might come from a 400-year-old ship found off England and the site of the ship is out of any country's territorial jurisdiction.

2700 Year-Old Piece of Fabric Found inside Funeral Urn of Unknown Ancient Greek

It is only speculation whether or not the Trojan war really occurred as depicted by Homer in his epics, Iliad and Odyssey. We only know that a war did take place around a city that quite likely was Troy, that Troy was destroyed utterly. This war, however, is still regarded as the defining cultural moment in Greek history. In Iliad, the poet describes Slain Heroes being cremated in elaborate funerals, which fell out of fashion in later times. But with the latest discovery of rare 2700 year old piece of fabric along with dried pomegranates and charred human bones inside a funeral copper urn confirms that this tradition was popular even later. Archaeologists have discovered the artifacts from a burial they believe imitated the elaborate cremation of soldiers described in Homer's Iliad.

The Mystery Resolved; the Tomb of King Herod Found

It has long been believed that King Herod, the legendary builder of ancient Jerusalem and the Holy Land, was buried somewhere in Herodium, a flattened hilltop in Judean Desert. Herod built two palaces on it, and decades of excavations had revealed a lot them but the tomb. Now, the tomb is found in between the two palaces by Ehud Netzer, a Hebrew University professor.

Herod became the ruler of the Holy Land under the Roman Empire in 40 BC. He built a wall around the old city Jerusalem which still stands, and he also ordered big construction projects in Caesaria, Jericho, the hilltop fortress of Massada which was occupied by Jewish rebels after the Jewish revolt in the first century. The rebels defended themselves from a Roman army for months. When it appeared that the Romans would finally conquer the fortress, hundreds of rebels committed suicide rather than be taken as prisoners by the conquering Romans. Although this fort is not mentioned in the Bible, it does give insight into the Roman military methods as well as the life of King Herod and his construction.

Herodium was one of the last strong points held by Jewish rebels fighting against the Romans, and the fort was destroyed by the Roman army in AD 71, a year after they destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

The 1st century historian Josephus Flavius described the tomb of King Herod who died in approximately 40 BC, and mentioned also about the funeral procession of the legendary king.

Oldest Proverbs In Paintings

Painting on popular proverbs was one of the most interesting trends in the history of painting. These paintings remind us of some of our oldest proverbs. The famous painting ‘Netherlandish Proverbs’ (1599) by Pieter Bruegel, one of the greatest Netherlandish artists, is probably the best in this line. It includes some most popular proverbs of the Netherlands. Examples include “The sow removes the spigot”(to make a pig of oneself), “He butts his head against the wall”(to bang one’s head against a brick wall), “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”, “He opens the door with his bottom”(he doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going”), “He who spills his gruel can’t pick it all up”(it’s no use crying over split milk), “He kills two flies with one blow”(to kill two birds with one stone), “They pull for the long piece”(to draw straws/pull the wishbone), “He throws money into the water”(to throw money down the drain), “He cannot reach from one loaf to the other”(He cannot make ends), “He doesn’t care whose house is burning as long as he can warm himself from the coals”(I’m all right Jack), “To poke a stick into the wheel”(to put a spoke in the wheel”, “He speaks out of two mouths”(to be two- faced), “One holds the distaff while the other spins”(it takes two to gossip) and many more. The painting ‘Netherlandish Proverbs’ depicts over 120 proverbs and sayings. The abstract activities of the villagers in the painting reflect the topsy-turvy nature of the world. The proverbs fall into two groups- those which show the absurdity of human behaviour, and those which demonstrate sinfulness (such as the woman wrapping a blue clock around her husband, symbolizing her adultery). Pieter Bruegel modeled this painting on a contemporary painting ‘The Blue Clock” by Frans Hogenberg. But Bruegel changed the abstract village setting into a realistic one. Moreover he increased the number of proverbs in his new painting from 40 to more than 100.