+1 for Evolution!

[alleycat]

*doing the cabbage patch dance*
Ancient boy's skeleton sparks evolution debate - CNN.com

 

[Tim]

"I did not evolve from Turkana Boy or anything like it," says Bishop Boniface Adoyo, head of Kenya's 35 evangelical denominations, which he claims have 10 million followers. "These sorts of silly views are killing our faith."...

Followers of creationism believe in the literal truth of the Genesis account in the Bible that God created the world in six days. Bishop Adoyo believes the world was created 12,000 years ago, with man appearing 6,000 years later. He says each biblical day was equivalent to 1,000 Earth years....

Ha ha, I think it's funny. When I was going to church when I was young, I asked about fossils and how far they dated back. The answer to that was always "Scientific dating has been shown to be wrong most of the time when it comes to dating fossils" or "Satan put those there to cause us to reject or question our faith"

 

[Peter Parka]

I don't get how these monkey man skeletons prove evolution. Here's a more logical thought, maybe the're the skeleton of a now extint breed of ape which we didn't evolve from!:confused

 

[andcuriouser]

I don't get how these monkey man skeletons prove evolution. Here's a more logical thought, maybe the're the skeleton of a now extint breed of ape which we didn't evolve from!:confused

Well, then how come we haven't found any modern human remains from the same time?

Evolution does make a lot of sense. As our environment changed, we needed to evolve and adapt to the new challenges that faced us. Animals evolve, why can't we?

 

[alleycat]

survival of the fittest man.... darwin owns all!!!

 

[Peter Parka]

Well, then how come we haven't found any modern human remains from the same time?

Because maybe if you believe in creation, they hadn't been invented yet.

 

[Sam]

No Comments

 

[sharpies]

Actually Pete the skull shape can be used to put these fossils into their families. It is true that there were a number of branches of early hominid that died out & did not become man but there is enough evidence to show a probable path to modern man.

The actual evolution & spread of mankind is not fully resolved - there are still plenty of questions to be answered but at least we are trying to find those answers.

Allan

 

[Sneakiecat]

Strange, I've never heard about Turkana Boy in any of my anthropology classes (or in any of my sister's anthropology books, which I do read).

 

[Chimera]

Evidence (Accumulated Data) over the past century has created a relatively clear picture of the evolution of our species over millions of years. Though the record is far from complete (and likely never will be), the brightest minds in the fields of Biology, Paleontology, and Gentics are in suprising agreement on the validity of the evolutionary premis....if not the fine details.
Below is an easily browsed and clicked representation of a small portion of what we now accept as the reality of this tree of life.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Early Human Phylogeny[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"A phylogenetic tree is a graphical means to depict the evolutionary relationships of a group of organisms. The phylogenetic tree below shows one reconstruction of the relationships among early human species, as we best know them today. It is a clickable image map. To go to a species page, click on the bar below the species name, or you can choose from the text links below. The question marks in red signify debated phylogenetic (ancestor/descendent) relationships of early humans. Click on these to view a page detailing the debate. At each page you can learn about the species you chose. Follow further links to any of the fossil specimens shown to learn more about specific finds." [/SIZE][/FONT]

Human Ancestors Hall: Tree

 

[White2000GT]

Well, then how come we haven't found any modern human remains from the same time?

Evolution does make a lot of sense. As our environment changed, we needed to evolve and adapt to the new challenges that faced us. Animals evolve, why can't we?

Maybe they haven't been found yet? Scientists are putting so much faith (interesting choice of word there, huh?) in these fossil skeletons, yet there have only been a handful of them found throughout the world. Imagine this... there is a child born with some deformities and it dies within a year or two and is buried in an unmarked grave somewhere. 5 million years down the road a scientist is digging and finds the skeleton. Now, keep in mind that there was no record of this child being born because it was born in the prehistory. The scientist immediately assumes it is "the missing link" because it has human like structure, but it is still different in ways. Therefore, it must be proof that we evolved! Yeah I know, it's a longshot. But my point is, scientist are basing the theory of evolution on just a handful of skeletons that have been found. If we're gonna go the scientific route then I need more proof than that. I need to see a couple of hundred or so of these ape-people. But, that's just me.

 

[sharpies]

This question will never be fully answered, mostly because it takes a lot of luck for a fossil to be formed - there are quite a number of things that have to happen, all in the right order.

So they will only ever find a few bits & pieces of animals & prehumans. I do believe, though that there is more evidence, at this point, for evolution than for any other theory.

Allan

 

[lemon]

..

now, if we could only get a group so charged like the one worrying about our past, to worry about the future, and where it leads....

*dreams*

 

[White2000GT]

I'm with Lemon ^^^ Fuck the past, we need to focus more on the present and the preservation of the future.

 

[Sneakiecat]

Maybe they haven't been found yet? Scientists are putting so much faith (interesting choice of word there, huh?) in these fossil skeletons, yet there have only been a handful of them found throughout the world. Imagine this... there is a child born with some deformities and it dies within a year or two and is buried in an unmarked grave somewhere. 5 million years down the road a scientist is digging and finds the skeleton. Now, keep in mind that there was no record of this child being born because it was born in the prehistory. The scientist immediately assumes it is "the missing link" because it has human like structure, but it is still different in ways. Therefore, it must be proof that we evolved! Yeah I know, it's a longshot. But my point is, scientist are basing the theory of evolution on just a handful of skeletons that have been found. If we're gonna go the scientific route then I need more proof than that. I need to see a couple of hundred or so of these ape-people. But, that's just me.

I agree to a certain point. They have the same problem in Egypt concerning gods (could the figurines found be their garden gnomes?). But it there is consistant characteristics found in these skeletons. Sure, we have found tons of them but we've based other animals ancestery off of far less. Why should we be any different?

 

[Chimera]

When hundreds of people, far more learned on such a topic than we could ever hope to be, come to a basic consensus on something through analysis.....its likely they may be correct. This is the case with Human evolutionary theory, and denial of the science based on religious dogma does not say much for critical thinking.
There are far more than a "Handful" of fossils to base the science on, and though much is obviously missing, there is enough at this point to make a very compelling case for the validity of evolution. Documented changes in the Flora and Fauna of this planet have all but proven that species change over time, in response to genetic and environmental influences. there is absolutely no reason to believe that a finch, or Dolphin is subject to these changes.....while we as humans are not.

 

[lemon]

oh yes, chimera - thanks for the second sentence ^^


evolution theory versus creation belief.

 

[White2000GT]

Well. personally I think that evolution is what got us where we are today, but I also will never rule out divine intervention as part of it. I mean, where did the matter come from before the Big Bang? What, was it just a glob of shit floating around in nothing until one day it decided to just blow up? And what about the Earth? It just happened to get lucky enough to form at just the right distance from the Sun so that over the course of a few billion years it could get life to where it is now? All that happened by accident? By chance? How are those questions not thinking critically? Because they support the idea that maybe.. just maybe God does exist?

 

[TheOriginalJames]

Ha ha, I think it's funny. When I was going to church when I was young, I asked about fossils and how far they dated back. The answer to that was always "Scientific dating has been shown to be wrong most of the time when it comes to dating fossils" or "Satan put those there to cause us to reject or question our faith"

It's funny, I recall hearing those same answers myself.

 

[sharpies]

... & the age old question, hey Whitey, where did God come from??

Allan