Links for Friday, August 23
Looking at crows, early man, and the Dem convention
Today’s links relate to several recent posts, material uncovered in research that was not included in the final articles. Some relate to our prehistoric past, touched on here:
And some relate to this:
Plus music, of course.
About Our Prehistorical Past
But first a note: Have you considered how we interacted with others of our genus, like homo erectus, homo neanderthalensis (the Neanderthals), or the Denisovans. From DNA evidence, it’s clear we mated with Neanderthals, at least occasionally. But did we also, sometimes, consider these creatures people or animals?
If a living homo erectus were to turn up today, how would she or he be treated? As human? Or as less?
And what if a continent of them were to be discovered, a New Europe of homo habilis or erectus? Would someone build factories there and put them to work? After all, we’ve done that to many of our own for centuries — treat them as things so that we, their “deserving” betters, could better our lot.
Links
• When We Took Over the World (PBS Eons)
The larger story of the migration of the genus homo from Africa to the rest of the world.
File under “No conquest more complete.”
• When We Met Other Human Species (PBS Eons)
An informative but anodyne explanation of our prehistoric encounters with other hominins. We mated with some of them. Did we also drive them to extinction? The evidence, so far, is silent.
File under “Like us, but not.”