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40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

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Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#51

Post by nylonstrung »

thoughtsimple wrote: post #15

I always love quotes like this: "All jewellery had a magical meaning for ancient people. Bracelets and neck adornments were to protect people from evil spirits, for instance." And we know this how? Maybe it was just made to be pretty. A rich person giving their partner a gift etc. No one could possibly be able to make any further inferences from a species of human we know almost nothing about.

It an expression of a more generalized need I've seen to disbelief that ancient humans could be capable of the rationality and logical thought we feel is proprietary to our time.

Also why many people cannot understand how the pyramids could be built without alien intervention

Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#52

Post by mabbo »

mholmes680 wrote: post #50
dandare wrote: post #28

> The cave is named after the Denisovan people — a mysterious species of hominins from the Homo genus Nope. The Denisovan people are named after the cave and the cave is named after a hermit Denis who lived there in the 18th century.

i wonder then if Denis drilled the hole in the thing. How would one determine the age of a drilled hole?

IANAA[0] but there are some pretty good techniques for telling the difference, from what I understand. Publishing something like this only for it to be something like 'Oh wait, I guess Denis did it' is a great way to end your career as a scientist.

[0] I am not an archeologist

Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#53

Post by mabbo »

icebraining wrote: post #39
dghf wrote: post #33

> the recent discovery of a female Denisovan finger bone and various teeth shows that they had no morphological similarities to either Neanderthals or modern humans. Does "morphological similarities" have a particular definition in palaeoanthropology beyond the apparently plain meaning of the words? Even if "they" refers to the finger bone and teeth rather than the Denisovans as a whole, I would have thought they wou…

Also, how could they have mated, let alone have hybrid children?

For some modern people, as much as 5% of their DNA comes from neanderthals. Pretty-close species can have hybrid children, but the more distant the less likely the child will be fully-functional.

Consider mules (horse + donkey) which are sterile or the infamous Ligers and Tigons (Lion + Tiger can make some monstrously large cats).

Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#54

Post by odabaxok »

thoughtsimple wrote: post #15

I always love quotes like this: "All jewellery had a magical meaning for ancient people. Bracelets and neck adornments were to protect people from evil spirits, for instance." And we know this how? Maybe it was just made to be pretty. A rich person giving their partner a gift etc. No one could possibly be able to make any further inferences from a species of human we know almost nothing about.

Your comment reminds me of: "Someday future archaeologists are going to dig up Disney World and think it was some bizarre mouse-worshiping kingdom."

https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/3vd7aa/some...

Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#55

Post by kaffeemitsahne »

thoughtsimple wrote: post #15

I always love quotes like this: "All jewellery had a magical meaning for ancient people. Bracelets and neck adornments were to protect people from evil spirits, for instance." And we know this how? Maybe it was just made to be pretty. A rich person giving their partner a gift etc. No one could possibly be able to make any further inferences from a species of human we know almost nothing about.

Reminds me of an article that was on HN a while ago, about how prehistoric people used to smear ochre on dead bodies using rocks, and then break these rocks to dispel the spirits of the dead (or something along those lines..), all this inferred from some broken rocks with traces of ochre on them.

Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#56

Post by vonnik »

It's a little outdated, but anyone interested in "extinct human species", or proto-humans, should read Jared Diamond's book "The Third Chimpanzee", which is about the small genetic and vast cultural differences that separate us from other large primate, including the two other types of chimp...

Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#57

Post by mirimir »

odabaxok wrote: post #54
thoughtsimple wrote: post #15

I always love quotes like this: "All jewellery had a magical meaning for ancient people. Bracelets and neck adornments were to protect people from evil spirits, for instance." And we know this how? Maybe it was just made to be pretty. A rich person giving their partner a gift etc. No one could possibly be able to make any further inferences from a species of human we know almost nothing about.

Your comment reminds me of: "Someday future archaeologists are going to dig up Disney World and think it was some bizarre mouse-worshiping kingdom." https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/3vd7aa/some...

I used to wonder that about the plastic parts of True cigarettes.

Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#58

Post by goodJobWalrus »

mabbo wrote: post #53
icebraining wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, how could they have mated, let alone have hybrid children?

For some modern people, as much as 5% of their DNA comes from neanderthals. Pretty-close species can have hybrid children, but the more distant the less likely the child will be fully-functional. Consider mules (horse + donkey) which are sterile or the infamous Ligers and Tigons (Lion + Tiger can make some monstrously large cats).

I remember reading that Australian aboriginals have up to 5% of Denisovan genes (don't remember source, but it was widely reported after the discovery)

Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#59

Post by badloginagain »

thoughtsimple wrote: post #15

I always love quotes like this: "All jewellery had a magical meaning for ancient people. Bracelets and neck adornments were to protect people from evil spirits, for instance." And we know this how? Maybe it was just made to be pretty. A rich person giving their partner a gift etc. No one could possibly be able to make any further inferences from a species of human we know almost nothing about.

I'm late to the party, but I would assume that the amount of non-useful items owned by a person can be a heuristic for the amount of respect/power/influence that person would have.

How that influence is manifested could well be through religious (shamanism) means, but it could also signify a great warrior, or the dominant member of a family/tribe/etc.

Re: 40,000-year-old bracelet made by extinct human species found (2015)

#60

Post by TeMPOraL »

Mithaldu wrote: post #40
TeMPOraL wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this is just an American thing. Also, my mother studied in Poland.

Even if she's not american, it could be an attribute of the line of study. Mathematics weren't started in Germany, but many text books, even in the USA are strongly influenced by german aspects. Also, if it's not that, where does that aspect come from then? How long have archeologists been doing this?

I don't know, but I also don't know of anything that would suggest that this is a typically American bias or that archaeology as a field of study is that heavily influenced by American culture.
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