Ramapithecus

Ramapithecus is a genus of extinct apes. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.2 million years old in the Miocene, have been found since the 19th century in the Siwalik Hills in the Indian Subcontinent. Any one of the species in this genus may have been the ancestor to the modern orangutans.

Some early discoveries were given the separate names Ramapithecus (Rama's Ape) and Bramapithecus (Brahma's Ape), and were thought to be possible ancestors of humans. This view is no longer considered tenable.

The first incomplete specimens of Sivapithecus were found in northern India in the late 19th century.

Another find was made in Nepal on the bank of Tinau River, Butwal; a western part of the country in 1932. This find was named "Ramapithecus". The discoverer, G. Edward Lewis, claimed that it was distinct from Sivapithecus, as the jaw was more like a human's than any other fossil ape then known,a claim revived in the 1960s. At that time, it was believed that the ancestors of humans had diverged from other apes 14 million years ago. Biochemical studies upset this view, suggesting that there was an early split between orangutan ancestors and the common ancestors of chimpanzees, gorillas and humans.

Human Evolution: how far have we come

157 years ago today Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published, his theory of evolution had entered the public domain for the first time. Reactions were strong.

Darwin’s theory questioned intelligent design and purpose in nature; to accept his theory meant questioning religious scriptures. Not surprisingly, fundamentalist Christians hated it. But a surprising number of believers fit it into their existing religious views, through what is termed “theistic evolution.” Like many religious people today, they didn’t take the bible literally, but as a set of metaphors.

People often see Darwin’s theory as antithetical to the notion of a creator, and modern atheists use acceptance of it as a lynchpin of rational pro-science secularism, but Darwin himself stated in the conclusion of the book:

“…probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial form, into which life was first breathed by the Creator.” 

That’s right, militant atheists, Darwin was not one of you, he practiced theistic evolution. He said he had “no intention to write atheistically” andadmitted he couldn’t bring himself to “view this wonderful universe and especially the nature of man” and conclude that “everything is the result of brute force.”

The theory did undermine religious authority and gave people alternative answers to how things came to be, however, leading to more atheism. It also opened up discourse around many things that people didn’t think to question. The most famous formal debate happened seven months after publishing, at Oxford. The participants included Thomas Henry Huxley, who was known as “Darwin’s bulldog” for being such a ferocious defender and promoter of his theory. One person on the anti-evolution side was Bishop Samuel Wilberforce.

Huxley and Wilberforce had famously cutting and insulting exchanges in the debate. A report from The Morning Chronicle had Wilberforce asking why “anyone would be so jubilant that his great great grandfather was an ape or a gorilla.” It was also recounted in an October 1898 issue of Macmillan’s Magazine that he turned to Huxley “with a smiling insolence, he begged to know, was it through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed his descent from a monkey?” to which Huxley replied “He was not ashamed to have a monkey for his ancestor; but he would be ashamed to be connected with a man who used great gifts to obscure the truth.” A woman was said to have fainted as a result of that sick burn.

Cannibalism

The word cannibalism itself gives chills to everyone, well not for those people who likes eating the flesh of another people. Cannibalism in humans simply is the act or practice of human eating the flesh or internal body organs of other human beings and the person who practice cannibalism is called a cannibal.

Cannibalism is a very vast topic to discuss on. No one exactly knows from when humans started eating each other as well. The oldest human bone fossils found in Ethiopia shows this sign as well. Cannibalism has always been a hidden topic in our society since ages. In some societies, especially tribal societies, cannibalism is practices as a social or cultural norm. Researchers have found that some tribal people eat the flesh of the dead member of their group as a sign of love and respect for the soul of the departed one. Some of the Brazilian societies, African societies and countries like New Zealand, New Guinea, Congo are supposed to have cannibals in their society (tribal society). The list of those myths goes on and on.

So why did human start cannibalism? The question doesn’t have an exact reason. But anthropologist suggests that early human may have practiced excessive cannibalism. Due to lack of easy meals, hunting spaces and in the race of survival they might had started eating each other. Researchers found that we, modern humans carry those gene of cannibals. The gene evolved as a protection against a brain disease that can be spread by consuming human brains.

Cannibals are tried to introduce in our societies as the character of a story and movies. The Witch from the famous story “Hansel and Gretel “is a perfect example of a cannibal. Movies like the silence of the lambs, Manhunter, Hannibal, Hannibal rising tries to introduce the concepts of cannibalism and how evil and dangerous a cannibal could be. 

Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis)

Discovered in 1974 in Africa, in one of the villages in Ethiopia by paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson and his crew members, Lucy is a collection of several pieces of bone fossils representing around 40% of the female skeleton of the “hominin” species Australopithecus afarensis.

Lived in the southern part of Africa about 3.2 million years ago, Lucy was about 3 and half feet tall, weighed about 29 kg and looked somewhat like a Chimpanzee. Her skeletal design showed that she was bipedal i.e.  she walked upright (equivalent properties to those of homo sapiens). Her age was probably in between 12- 14 years. The study of her wisdom teeth showed that she was a fully-grown species. The fact that Lucy could walk upright despite she had a smaller brain than the normal homo sapiens questioned about the assumptions paleoanthropologist made about the bipedalism. (earlier it was believed that the increase in size of the brain had caused the homo sapiens to walk upright)

Naming of Lucy was somewhat unique. Lucy acquired her name from the song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by the Beatles. The song was repeatedly played in the expedition camp after the excavation team’s first day work at the recovery site. The name was loved by everyone there and finally after the discovery of the fossils, the name Lucy was given with a public announcement.

Lucy became famous worldwide, and the story of her discovery and construction attracted people’s attention (published by Donald Johanson in a book). Lucy was supposed to have lived for 12 years. She died in her middle age. There are many assumptions made on how she died. Some researcher suggests that she died after falling from a tree. Donald Johanson, however disagreed on those assumptions and believes that the cause of her death is still mysterious. Or simply we can say the real cause of her death isn’t still discovered.