tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post2464260141828548715..comments2024-03-19T18:51:58.496-05:00Comments on Cultural Front: Haley Reading Group: Digging Through the World’s Oldest GraveyardH. Rambsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16862209871277442972noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-5098251122372494742017-11-27T03:21:15.162-06:002017-11-27T03:21:15.162-06:00Evolution is an interesting topic where the learni...Evolution is an interesting topic where the learning is really intense. Interested minds can research evolution because it is so many topics and controversial arguments about evolution. One thing that stood out to me was the evolution of humans. The first humans were found to be on her three to four billion years ago. We have came a long way from where rocks and simple objects to complex ideas and inventions. Precious Middletonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-52140729181520966132017-11-25T19:34:26.672-06:002017-11-25T19:34:26.672-06:00One point concerning the various species that caug...One point concerning the various species that caught my attention is the discovery of Selam. In the article "Digging Through the World's Oldest Graveyard" by Amy Maxmen, it reads " Selam's gorillaish shoulder blades and long fingers betrayed a penchant for swinging on branches. But bones at the base of her head showed that she held it upright and therefore walked on two legs(180)." This caught my attention because this shows the evolution of the human species. This has conflicting views with religions and shows the battles many archaeologist goes through when finding new discoveries about the human history. <br />-Thomas MosesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-37743205667099230882017-11-08T23:25:26.709-06:002017-11-08T23:25:26.709-06:00One of the things Maxmen mentioned that really sto...One of the things Maxmen mentioned that really stood out to me was the discovery of Selam. It is solid, physical evidence of evolution in our species. "Selam's gorillaish shoulder blades and long fingers betrayed a penchant for swinging on branches. But bones at the base of her head showed that she held it upright and therefor walked on to legs. The size of her skull suggested that her brain developed slowly through early childhood, a distinct characteristic of humans from long before modern humans evolved." (p. 180) This species was a split between human and chimpanzee characteristics. It blows my mind that there is a definite "halfway point" that was discovered. This part stood out to me so much because it shows the specifics of the shift that got to the homosapiens we are today. Kiana Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-71362319752944896282017-11-07T16:10:11.957-06:002017-11-07T16:10:11.957-06:00After reading "Digging Through the World'...After reading "Digging Through the World's Oldest Graveyard" I immediately noticed the conflict of religion totally opposing the views that archaeologists and scientists bring forward due to their own personal beliefs. I myself have never been a very religious person, which I am somewhat grateful for. I appreciated reading this because it forced me to deeply think about our species as a whole and how we were truly originated. Overall, I found this to be a good read on the controversial topic of evolution.Kobi Phillipsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-33016778711268832692017-11-07T11:24:20.048-06:002017-11-07T11:24:20.048-06:00Dejanee Geeters
When I was in high school and we ...Dejanee Geeters<br /><br />When I was in high school and we learned about evolution I was tempted to say it was against my religion, because I never really believed in it. I feel that all the evidence pointing towards evolution are assumptions and I feel you could point to any bone and say what it belongs to. I am a Christian, and we were all created by God, nothing else. Page 180 the description of a girl with "gorillaish shoulders and long fingers" with " bones at the base of her head [that] showed that she held it upright and therefore walked on two legs." The first quote is not worth considering, but the second makes me think.dgeeterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607558996438592389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-50247826209409602602017-11-06T09:52:20.374-06:002017-11-06T09:52:20.374-06:00One comment that really intrigued me was the fact ...One comment that really intrigued me was the fact that there were "11 new species of hominids" and they were all found within "the past two decades"(184). The first reason being that I was not aware of just how many different species of just hominids there were in the past. I had only assumed that with evolution there were probably around 10 different species. Another thing was that these 11 species were only discovered between a 20 year time span, which only makes me wonder if there could be at least a hundred more species that are not yet known, but will be discovered in the coming decades. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02689088158732880815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-36034444020939556722017-11-02T15:04:46.225-05:002017-11-02T15:04:46.225-05:00The reading "Digging Through the World's ...The reading "Digging Through the World's Oldest Graveyard" by Amy Maxmen in my opinion, was a very difficult reading. I am a Christian and the idea of evolution sickens me. We were all created by God and not as science experiments so to speak. Knowing that archaeologist have the ability to provide proof of evolution is an interesting concept though. They discovered a child over 3 million years old. They described her as having "gorilla-ish shoulders and long fingers" in contrast it also had " bones at the base of her head [that] showed that she held it upright and therefore walked on two legs." Wow all this is very interesting. I don't believe humans evolved from gorillas. Humans and gorillas are two separate species. Always have been and always will.Tomika Collinsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-34027148172606317752017-11-02T00:18:47.449-05:002017-11-02T00:18:47.449-05:00When reading "Digging Through the World's...When reading "Digging Through the World's Oldest Graveyard" by amy Maxem I realized that this was by far the most interesting article that we have been assigned to read. One of the quotes that stood out to me was when they were talking about Charles Darwin. "Charles Darwin knew that humans revolved from apes, but died"(181). I found this quote interesting because I was just in biology watching a documentary about how humans evolved from fish. I think that it is amazing that we come up with all these theories to prove religions wrong, but in the end the theories just cancel each other out. alishiana Ivyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12563956177114739836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-19456258076449346092017-11-01T10:28:43.748-05:002017-11-01T10:28:43.748-05:00After reading "Digging through the world'...After reading "Digging through the world's oldest graveyard" by Amy Maxem I learned a little bit more about how archaeologists can provide evidence for evolution. I think that evolution is very interesting and it is something that is hard to understand sometimes. I found it interesting that archaeologists can find so much information just from examining fossils.Marley McCoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12836779084890617018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-80794229323569119752017-10-31T00:39:54.901-05:002017-10-31T00:39:54.901-05:00What really stuck out to me is the debate between ...What really stuck out to me is the debate between creationism and evolutionism. I have spent the entirety of my life raised in a Christian family, so I always tended to reject any of the slightest belief on evolution occurring in our planet. I love the mentioning of evolution, however, because not only does it allow me to get a taste of what others believe is true, but it also allows me to understand why others may believe in a certain belief. Although I have my beliefs that creationism is the true reason for living organisms on Earth, I respect the beliefs of those who believe that creationism is true.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09107309045935084427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-44088053996075995972017-10-31T00:08:16.341-05:002017-10-31T00:08:16.341-05:00I am a strong believer in evolution and have alway...I am a strong believer in evolution and have always been fascinated by it, though avoiding the topic for its obvious controversy. The part of the reading that stuck with me the most is from this excerpt:<br /><br />"The size of her (Selam) skull suggested her brain developed slowly through early childhood, a distinct characteristic of humans from long before modern humans evolved."<br /><br />In comparison to modern humans, where childhood is where a LOT of brain development occurs. It's when we absorb the most information and learn things the fastest.<br /><br />-Dasia AndersonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-65121458835857905792017-10-30T16:50:16.764-05:002017-10-30T16:50:16.764-05:00Personally, evolution is a topic that I struggle t...Personally, evolution is a topic that I struggle to grasp because of personal beliefs. I am a born christian so my religious beliefs make me skeptical of the scientific explanation, as well as others in the world. I believe that at one point we could've resembled monkeys or primates, but because primates exist today and we have not seen them evolve. The author does a good job supplying evidence like on pg. 180 where they describe the discovery of Lucy and how similar she was to a primate.<br /><br />- Abraham C.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09230563939773664728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-61239188149015095092017-10-30T10:21:49.408-05:002017-10-30T10:21:49.408-05:00Evolution has always been that topic that’s pretty...Evolution has always been that topic that’s pretty controversial amongst us. Some believe the scientific way, and others believe the more religious way. This reading here explained the more scientific way towards evolution, in which I agree with. A clever point that this reading makes is be fact that we continue to make innovations in our society, that it will inhibit future generations to make some of their own. I still found it cool within the reading that the found the skeletons of homosapiens by excavacating the entire area. Overall, this was a good reading on the subject of evolution. James Beverly IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11598775085142971078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-75445155148627600422017-10-30T10:13:50.877-05:002017-10-30T10:13:50.877-05:00The idea of evolution has been debated for a long ...The idea of evolution has been debated for a long time. A concerning point for me in the article was while reading was on page 180 when they found a child with "gorillaish shoulders and long fingers" but it also had " bones at the base of her head [that] showed that she held it upright and therefore walked on two legs." I found this interesting because typically when hearing about evolution it is taught in terms of animals or of adults over time. Also, this article was interesting because it shows the other side for me that humans have come from apes where as I personally believe that humans came from God. This allows for me to get a new perspective of how others think and view humans. <br /><br />Daeja Daniels Daeja Danielsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-19328828141245536232017-10-30T08:51:24.361-05:002017-10-30T08:51:24.361-05:00Evolution has always been something that I believe...Evolution has always been something that I believe strongly in and am always fascinated to learn new things about it. What really surprised me was the section on page 181 which talked about hominids, who came way before homo sapiens. I didn't know there was a stage between us and apes, so to learn about this amazing discovery has made me curious to more about evolution as well as the paleontology that supports it. Kamela Crosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04613955094711162977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-88402899885520463322017-10-30T08:32:07.706-05:002017-10-30T08:32:07.706-05:00To me, the most fascinating thing was the extent t...To me, the most fascinating thing was the extent that each researcher and scientist had to go through to conclude what the species were and how they came to be. As an English major, I constantly think of things in a social science type of way -- why people act the way the do and what drives them. Putting all of the "science-y" stuff beside, I found it awe-inspiring that so many people were willing to dive in this expedition and help change the world. In my everyday life, I find it hard sometimes to put forth 1/100 of the energy that these particular people put forth in finding fossils. The quote that most stuck out to me regarding the mentality that one must have to do something so transformative was found on page 187; Dean Falk stated “You need a plan, you need the motor skills to do it, you need to keep the task in mind for as long as it takes, and you need the motivation to go to all that work in advance of when you need the tool. That’s all frontal lobe stuff.” In it's entirety, this quote makes full sense in and outside of the science world. Research can take years to complete and many trials and tribulations; just as goals take a really long time to complete. You have to keep that goal in mind. You need a plan. You need resources. And you absolutely NEED determination and motivation.<br /><br />--Toriel S.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-9625889218656279202017-10-29T18:50:50.882-05:002017-10-29T18:50:50.882-05:00From the context in "Digging Through the Worl...From the context in "Digging Through the World's Oldest Graveyard" by Amy Maxmen, one piece of information that really stuck out to me was the comment about how one discovery leads to another discovery. This makes total sense in the perspective of today's society: new innovations to our world are coming in each and every day that makes the usage of communication really easy and efficient. One example is the iPhone; users of that device hold the world in their hands. For example, if a bombing were to happen in Europe, we could find out about it within seconds. It amazes me how blessed we are to live in a world where we are open to these new discoveries.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09107309045935084427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-38127999452913164022017-10-28T16:31:20.201-05:002017-10-28T16:31:20.201-05:00As I read "Digging Through the World's Ol...As I read "Digging Through the World's Oldest Graveyard" by Amy Maxmen the thing that stuck out me me the most was on page 180 when they found a child with "gorillaish shoulders and long fingers" but it also had " bones at the base of her head [that] showed that she held it upright and therefore walked on two legs." That stuck out to me because in history you dont usually hear about the children being discovered. Alemseged said, " It's the earliest child in the history of humanity." That was very interesting to me.Samontriona Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-72427353331114238092017-10-28T14:37:04.814-05:002017-10-28T14:37:04.814-05:00I have never given evolution much of a thought so ...I have never given evolution much of a thought so I was really interested in reading this section. I did realize that there were a lot of special themes and things to learn about throughout the writing. On page 184, "This disconnect to the rest of the world explains why Asfaw is rarely mentioned in magazine articles and books on human evolution, despite his dozen publications in top journals." I believe that this was meant to show that a lot of the times, we don't give credit where credit is really due. Amy Maxmen also stated on page 189, "Their colleagues in offices.... may not appreciate the effort that that goes into unearthing the fossils in the first place,'They don't know that the Jeep broke down in the desert.... and he got malaria.'" This shows this theme even more because people often fight over things almost doing a disgrace to the people who got that information or not really realizing the work that is put in before they are able to do any work.Stella Nguepnangnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-71919103335254895652017-10-28T14:26:31.888-05:002017-10-28T14:26:31.888-05:00I already knew about Lucy and her origins before r...I already knew about Lucy and her origins before reading "Digging Through The World's Oldest Graveyard," but only because I was taught evolution practically every year in school. I'm from Chicago, and at the Field Museum there's an "Evolving Planet" exhibit that goes through the stages of human and plant evolution, so I've seen that as well. I did think it was interesting that this team found the "earliest child in the history of humanity," as said on page 180. I never even considered that they might want to find the skeleton of a child, but now I realize that they're interested in also learning about the development of early hominids, not just their evolution.Jada Jamesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-81764366278815751792017-10-28T12:50:20.588-05:002017-10-28T12:50:20.588-05:00A couple things I found that were interesting was ...A couple things I found that were interesting was that I never heard of this guy, despite his accomplishments, which was promptly answered in the text explaining the lack of electricity in Ethiopia. I also found the statement, "...the first signs of butchery" a bit comical, but very significant (even though it is disputed later in the story). I fell like if we keep digging (pun not intended) into our past, we will continue to uncover more of our story and origin, as Alemseged and his multiple teams had, and are still doing to this day.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06085383848637043805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-5026547596290213922017-10-28T00:07:20.491-05:002017-10-28T00:07:20.491-05:00One aspect of the essay I found interesting person...One aspect of the essay I found interesting personally is the discovery of the "earliest child in the history of humanity" (180). Also, the fact they described the bones as "partially human, partially chimpanzee" (180). This discovery shows us the connection between our ancestors and our evolution from that point on.Chikelue nkemehnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-16367799071152914052017-10-27T23:33:11.779-05:002017-10-27T23:33:11.779-05:00I have always been interested in what to believe i...I have always been interested in what to believe in when it comes to how everything was created. I have always had my family and media telling me to believe God created everything in 7 days but I was learning about evolution in science class and that made a lot of sense to me. I still don't know what t o fully believe, but when the quote by Charles Darwin, " Those regions which is most likely to afford remains connecting man with some extinct ape-like creature, have not as yet been searched by geologist." Really made me think, if there truly is that creature connecting human to apes, why has it not been discovered yet? I'm not really sure, its just something that makes me think.Breonna Robertsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-15175607076577485462017-10-27T23:20:56.448-05:002017-10-27T23:20:56.448-05:00To me this was a hard section to read. As i was re...To me this was a hard section to read. As i was reading it nothing really caught my attention, so I had to read it multiple times just to catch and understand what I was reading. The one thing that did catch my attention as I was reading was when they were talking about Lucy, because we had just started talking about her in my Anthropology class. It was interesting to learn more about the discovery of Lucy. The fact that they also found another fossil just like hers was intereasting. When they talked about Selam, it was interesting because they said “Selam’s gorillaish shoulder blades and long fingers betrayed a penchant for swinging on branches.” As they go on to explain how much Selam was like a mixture of a gorilla and human was interesting to read and learn more about. When Alemseged said, “when you realize that you, as an individual, are part of a very long line, you begin to take it personally, you really are afraid to cut off that line.” It got me to think about how much that is true. When you tale something personally, it drives you do learn more and work harder to learn or figure it out. It’s like when I learned that I was Puerto Rican, it made me want to learn more about my heritage and just learn more about the culture as a whole. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-32046374622416858022017-10-27T22:25:51.620-05:002017-10-27T22:25:51.620-05:00In this article, I found many interesting points. ...In this article, I found many interesting points. I found the discovery of Lucy very interesting because it supports Darwin's theory. What I found the most interesting, though, was the discovery of Selam. I Wasn't necessarily interested in the actual discovery, but I was very impressed that archeologist can tell so much from just some bones. On page 180, Amy Maxem reviews the discovery of Selam and describes how the fingers and gorilla like shoulders meant she could swing like a gorilla, but her skull was human-like in the way that the scientists could tell she held it upright meaning she walked on two legs. It is also baffling that they can tell how Selam developed because of her skull size, saying she had a brain development similar to how early childhood growth occurs in humans now. This intrigued me that all this can be told from a skeleton from millions of years ago.Jonathan Sancheznoreply@blogger.com