den_wolf Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 (edited) Scientists: Hard heads a key to survival Clubbing heads may have been part of mating rituals By Marsha Walton CNN Friday, February 13, 2004 Posted: 10:55 AM EST (1555 GMT) (CNN) -- Get it through your once-thick skull. Scientists say the bulky craniums of the human ancestor, homo erectus, may have helped the species survive some aggressive mating rituals. After studying fossils in a region called Dragon Bone Hill in China, anthropologist Russell Ciochon of the University of Iowa concluded males of the species were clubbing one another over the head, probably to win females. Those with thicker skulls who survived these bloody confrontations would pass that trait to offspring, Ciochon said. "The evidence shows there may have been ritualized violence taking place," he said. For more than 100 years, researchers have pondered the odd shape of homo erectus' skull, which looks something like a bicycle helmet. Designed to protect the brain, eyes and ears from impact, homo erectus' head was bulkier than those of hominids before it, and after it. In their book "Dragon Bone Hill, an Ice Age Saga of Homo Erectus," Ciochon and anatomy professor Noel Boaz say they would "lay bets that, as in many other species, we are detecting the results of sexual selection." In the rugged world of homo erectus, a tough skull served them well, scientists said. It would have been a tremendous advantage for survival, less likely to break on impact and geared toward winning fights. With no language, only a shaky knowledge of fire, and simple stone tools, homo erectus managed to survive for more than 1.5 million years. Over the years other explanations for the thick skulls didn't completely add up. For example, the skull could not save them from a major predator of the day, the giant hyena. Hyenas would likely have aimed for softer, more vulnerable parts of the homo erectus body, researchers say. And the animal's fierce teeth could pierce even the thickest pre-human head. The researchers used modern tools to reach their conclusions, studying fossil casts, fossil bones, ethnographic records and comparative anatomy. They experimented with human cadavers to establish how much force it would take to break bones. They gathered evidence from dozens of fossils with healed skull fractures: presumably from the hard-heads who got the girls. Researchers compared the mating rituals of the hominids to those of bighorn sheep, who charge at each other at speeds up to 20 mph and butt heads for the right to mate with females. So why didn't modern humans inherit this thick skull? Ciochon said evolution eventually favored a lighter skull to accommodate a heavier and larger brain. A thinner skull also would help cool the brain. An excerpt of the book is in the February issue of Natural History magazine. http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/02/12...ulls/index.html --- I can imagine what flirting could've been like for them.. Edited February 15, 2004 by den_wolf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Wolf man please. if you are ever going to post my pic here again the least you can do is ask for my permission. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
den_wolf Posted February 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Wolf man please. if you are ever going to post my pic here again the least you can do is ask for my permission. Thank you. :lol2: Azat, I thought it was my pic!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sip Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Note to self: Do not play "let's club each other on the heads for mates" with Azat or Den. Very interesting article Den! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
den_wolf Posted February 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Note to self: Do not play "let's club each other on the heads for mates" with Azat or Den. Very interesting article Den! LMAO Sip!!! :lol2: Indeed!! Especially that I'm wolfish too.. haha.. Yeah, very interesting article, isn't it? I was debating whether or not to post it, but the picture was just too interesting to not post it. I'm glad we don't look like that now. But then again, maybe millions of years from now, they will be posting pictures of us and laughing at the way we looked. You never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH Millions of years from now? HAHAHAHAH People post pictures of mine now and start laughing... oh wait... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
den_wolf Posted February 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Azat, is this you: http://efraimstochter.de/images/figuren_lindgren/karlsson_vom_dach_2.gif If so, you're not that laughable LOL. Oh man, I'm sure you don't look like that guy in the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 not far from it. the guy in the picture seems to have a bit more hair than I do and is a bit more handsom... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
den_wolf Posted February 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 not far from it. the guy in the picture seems to have a bit more hair than I do and is a bit more handsom... Azat, dude, LOL, at least you have a better sense of humour than clubbing someone on the head for a mate. LMAO!!! Of course, I'm just kidding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 When the opposite sex is in my presence I loose my sense of humor so I do have to resort to clubbing. Later boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anonymouse Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Scientists say the bulky craniums of the human ancestor, homo erectus, may have helped the species survive some aggressive mating rituals. Notice the key word, "may"? Well, they "may" have eaten jellyfish and it helped their digestive tract, who knows. It's all speculation really. Notice the words "may" and "probably" and "less likely"? Yep, even science takes an ounce of faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
den_wolf Posted February 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 faith and attempts to explain something are two different things. so I disagree with what you just said. if they didn't have good reasons to think so, they wouldn't have claimed it. otherwise it would be totally pointless. if science depended on faith even to a very small degree, it would cease to be science. science is about observation and conclusions, rather than blind speculations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anonymouse Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 faith and attempts to explain something are two different things. so I disagree with what you just said. if they didn't have good reasons to think so, they wouldn't have claimed it. otherwise it would be totally pointless. if science depended on faith even to a very small degree, it would cease to be science. science is about observation and conclusions, rather than blind speculations. it would cease to be science science is about observation and conclusions, rather than blind speculations. Have we observed homo erectus mating? No, we are making assumptions, thus using faith. Even in the ordinary affairs of our lives we are governed far more by what we believe than by what we know. We risk fortunes on the signature of another on the other side of the planet whom we havent seen upon the belief that he is honest and trustworthy, we believe in the occurances have taken place on the assertion of others, we believe in the past by those who have told us so, all things that logic, science, observations, cannot explain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
den_wolf Posted February 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Mmmk.. we have observed the shape of the fossils, and deduced that since the males are the ones who have it, etc. etc. go from there. there's nothing about faith here. but mmmk, since you're intent on disagreeing, so be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anonymouse Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Mmmk.. we have observed the shape of the fossils, and deduced that since the males are the ones who have it, etc. etc. go from there. there's nothing about faith here. but mmmk, since you're intent on disagreeing, so be it. I have faith that the pic you posted was generally a loving and noble homo erectus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
den_wolf Posted February 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 I have faith that the pic you posted was generally a loving and noble homo erectus. Who claimed the constructed homo erectus was "loving" and "noble"? LOL. the reconstruction is not arbitrary. It is the result of scientific and archaeological findings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anonymouse Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Who claimed the constructed homo erectus was "loving" and "noble"? LOL. the reconstruction is not arbitrary. It is the result of scientific and archaeological findings. No one is questioning the skeletal remains. How they patched up that clay epidermis on him to make him look like that, well, that just a creative imagination. I still think he's noble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harut Posted February 16, 2004 Report Share Posted February 16, 2004 ...How they patched up that clay epidermis on him to make him look like that, well, that just a creative imagination... interestingly, there was a theory not too long ago (don't know if it was proven right or wrong or neither) that dinasours did indeed have very bright colorful appearances, unlike the common lizardish green outfit we give them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpa Posted February 16, 2004 Report Share Posted February 16, 2004 Wolf man please. if you are ever going to post my pic here again the least you can do is ask for my permission. Thank you. We have known all along that Azat was a "tantsi glukh", or was it "tantsi kot". :) Now we know where that expression comes. It is not "tantsi glukh" it is "tantsR glukh". Thick head!! :) Speaking of thick headedness there are many anecdotes about which Armenian has the thicker head. Can anyone remember any? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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