Re: Lucy's current status -- in the fossil record or out?
Barry Mennen (barrym2@ix.netcom.com(Barry)
27 Dec 1996 20:25:45 GMT
In <susansfE333MJ.67@netcom.com> susansf@netcom.com (Susan S. Chin)
writes:
>
> "Michael J. Gallagher" <MIKEJOE@Prodigy.Net> wrote:
>: >A friend of mine told me recetly that Lucy had been "debunked," and
was
>: >no longer considered a real fossil, much less a candidate ancestor.
>
>Might want to ask your friend for their source of this
mis-information.
>
>Brent Howatt wrote:
>: As to the question of whether _A. afarensis_ is considered to be in
the
>: evolutionary line leading to modern humans, there is some difference
of
>: opinion among experts, but it is largely considered to be one of our
>: ancestors.
>
>If A. afarensis is not an early hominid species leading to modern
humans,
>then there is one huge gap between 3 to ~4 mya in the hominid fossil
>record. Afarensis is largely the only Australopithecine known for one
million
>years... that's an awful long time to NOT have evidence of another
hominid
>lineage... assuming the taphonomic playing field is even during this
period.
>
>: When Johansen and White published their find, they made the
>: claim that _A. afarensis_ was ancestral. This was disputed by
Richard
>: Leakey and others.
>
>However, in that infamous Walter Cronkite special featuring Johanson
and
>Richard Leakey...when asked to draw *his* version of the human family
>tree.... all Leakey could do was to draw one big "?" depicting his
>hypothesis of early African hominid phylogeny. I'll take afarensis
over a
>big "?" any day... less explaining to do, why these other fossils
haven't
>yet been found. If and unless we do, there is no good reason afarensis
>cannot be an early ancestor to modern humans.
>
>Susan
>
>--
> susansf@netcom.com
Excuse me Susan, but there is one good reason why A. afarensis cannot
be an early human ancestor: the fossil was not found by a Leakey or
anyone in their camp. ;-)
Barry
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