I'm getting a handaxe made by a Homo Erectus!

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I'm getting a handaxe made by a Homo Erectus!

It's in the mail!  I may get it by Saturday!  I'm so stoked!

It's an Acheulean stone handaxe or "biface" made and used by Homo Erectus between 500,000 to 1.3 million years ago!

*jumps with joy*

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Iruka Naminori
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That's sofa king cool!

That's sofa king cool!

I've often eyeballed fossils and fossil replicas. I'd like to own a Smilodon skull and a replica of a Utahraptor claw.

A Homo erectus hand axe sounds cool.  Who knows?  It could have been made by a direct ancestor. Smiling

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That is very cool

That is very cool


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Thanks guys.  I can't wait

Thanks guys.  I can't wait to get it!  Ok, well I can, but I feel extremely impatient. Sticking out tongue

Iruka Naminori wrote:

I've often eyeballed fossils and fossil replicas. I'd like to own a Smilodon skull and a replica of a Utahraptor claw.

You can get a replica velociraptor claw for only $8 here:

http://storeforknowledge.com/Velociraptor-claw-Replica-P2677C192.aspx

But I think Velociraptor fossils have only been found around Mongolia so I don't know how different it is from a Utahraptor.

And check out this Sabertooth Cat replica skull in matrix:

http://www.boneclones.com/CB-19.htm

That's way cool.

I already have a replica Homo Heidelbergensis skull.  The "Broken Hill" skull from africa.

http://www.boneclones.com/BH-004.htm

I love that too.

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Best name for a species

Best name for a species EVAR!

 


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Here's a South American

Here's a South American Smilodon Skull replica:

http://www.boneclones.com/BC-103.htm


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So extremely cool watcher!

So extremely cool watcher!  I've got a 350 million year old museum piece of rock, a very cool formation.  I'm very jealous.  Where do you find authentic pieces for sale?

 

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Sapient wrote: So

Sapient wrote:

So extremely cool watcher!  I've got a 350 million year old museum piece of rock, a very cool formation.  I'm very jealous.  Where do you find authentic pieces for sale?

Do you collect rocks, Brian?

I've been a rock collector for 28 years round abouts.

You can get these items with security of its authenticity at paleodirect.com.  Just click on the "Primitive Man" link at the top of the home page.

They carry a lifetime non-conditional guarantee of it's authenticity.  They also tell you where you can find professionals to inspect your item(museums, universities, etc.).

I've been doing business with them for several years and they are great.

You can find cheaper ones at other places.  But this is the ONLY place I trust for these items.

The extra cost is well worth the piece of mind.

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Watcher wrote: You can get

Watcher wrote:

You can get a replica velociraptor claw for only $8 here:

http://storeforknowledge.com/Velociraptor-claw-Replica-P2677C192.aspx

But I think Velociraptor fossils have only been found around Mongolia so I don't know how different it is from a Utahraptor.

Utahraptor was much larger than Velociraptor, and is (I think) still the largest known dromaeosaurid. The smallest is Microraptor, which had four wings. Yes, dromaeosaurs had feathers.

If you check out my art journal, I've recently sketched both Velociraptor and Microraptor. Also, check this way cool fossil of Velociraptor and Protoceratops locked in mortal combat.

 

Watcher wrote:
And check out this Sabertooth Cat replica skull in matrix:

http://www.boneclones.com/CB-19.htm

That's way cool.

Oh yes. Smiling I've checked out a lot of fossils and fossil replicas and drooled. I would also like a Megalodon tooth, but I can't splurge on such things right now.

Next time I'm in SoCal (may be awhile), I'd like to check out the LaBrea tar pits. It was a predator trap and caught many, many Smilodon fatalis. Smilodon fatalis had a small brain compared to other kinds of cats. The American lion (Panthera leo atrox) had the largest brain for body size of any large cat and is not as well represented at the tar pits. It could be there were simply fewer or it could be P. l. atrox was smarter. Probably we'll never know for sure.

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Sapient wrote: So

Sapient wrote:

So extremely cool watcher! I've got a 350 million year old museum piece of rock, a very cool formation. I'm very jealous. Where do you find authentic pieces for sale?

 

Our ancestors and the ancestors of my parrot diverged at about that time, Sapient.  The species that most closely represents our last common ancestor is an amniote, which still laid its eggs in water but had some reptilian characteristics.

Independently of one another, birds and mammals evolved endothermia and a four-chambered heart.  One difference I've noted in the past is the birds' ability to carry sperm within the body at a rather toasty 102 degrees.  Mammalian sperm can't survive at that termperature.  I wonder what the difference is??? I don't think science has an answer yet.

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Iruka Naminori

Iruka Naminori wrote:
Watcher wrote:

You can get a replica velociraptor claw for only $8 here:

http://storeforknowledge.com/Velociraptor-claw-Replica-P2677C192.aspx

But I think Velociraptor fossils have only been found around Mongolia so I don't know how different it is from a Utahraptor.

Utahraptor was much larger than Velociraptor, and is (I think) still the largest known dromaeosaurid. The smallest is Microraptor, which had four wings. Yes, dromaeosaurs had feathers.

If you check out my art journal, I've recently sketched both Velociraptor and Microraptor. Also, check this way cool fossil of Velociraptor and Protoceratops locked in mortal combat.

 

Watcher wrote:
And check out this Sabertooth Cat replica skull in matrix:

http://www.boneclones.com/CB-19.htm

That's way cool.

Oh yes. Smiling I've checked out a lot of fossils and fossil replicas and drooled. I would also like a Megalodon tooth, but I can't splurge on such things right now.

Next time I'm in SoCal (may be awhile), I'd like to check out the LaBrea tar pits. It was a predator trap and caught many, many Smilodon fatalis. Smilodon fatalis had a small brain compared to other kinds of cats. The American lion (Panthera leo atrox) had the largest brain for body size of any large cat and is not as well represented at the tar pits. It could be there were simply fewer or it could be P. l. atrox was smarter. Probably we'll never know for sure.

Good info, Iruka.  Thanks for letting us know.  While I am interested in all evolution including ancient animal life like dinosaurs I'm mainly a HUGE fan of studying Homo Sapien's ancestors.  I revel in that stuff.

To actually own and be able to hold a handaxe made and used by Homo Erectus is something that is EXTREMELY fascinating for me.  I have arrowheads, scrapers, grinders, and clay pots made by Native Americans found on my parent's 1,000 acre ranch over the years.  I love those, but to have a Homo Erectus axe?

WOW!  I feel all tingly inside just thinking about it.

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Watcher wrote:

Watcher wrote:

Good info, Iruka. Thanks for letting us know. While I am interested in all evolution including ancient animal life like dinosaurs I'm mainly a HUGE fan of studying Homo Sapien's ancestors. I revel in that stuff.

To actually own and be able to hold a handaxe made and used by Homo Erectus is something that is EXTREMELY fascinating for me. I have arrowheads, scrapers, grinders, and clay pots made by Native Americans found on my parent's 1,000 acre ranch over the years. I love those, but to have a Homo Erectus axe?

WOW! I feel all tingly inside just thinking about it.

I totally understand. I love natural history--pretty much everything that has to do with ancient life of any kind. It fascinates me that so many creatures existed and are now extinct...and that we don't even have the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fossils! I'd give almost anything to travel back in time and have a look, preferrably with a knowledgeable paleontologist and archaeologist along for the ride.

I haven't focused on the evolution of humans, but I do know a little bit. The Australopithecus afarensis baby found recently was of particular interest to me. It was nearly complete and showed the body structure of the first known erect ape (more ape than human). It's brain was just a bit larger than a chimp's, as I recall, but it was bipedal. It's amazing what the foramen magnum can say about a creature. Lucy had some missing parts, but the position of the hips and foramen magnum told the tale. Now science has a virtually complete specimen to study.

I'm also interested in the animals that branched away from from the Homo line. As I recall, there were some rather burly, heavy-jawed bipedal apes in the lineage...can't remember the names right now. It's interesting to see the whole family tree.

So, do you think Homo ergaster was the ancestor of both Neanderthals and Cro Magnons? Or did Neanderthals spring from other stock? (Or am I thinking of heidelbergensis? H. heidelbergensis was more recent, I think.)

I was also quite interested in the Homo floresiensis discovery. There was a bit of controversy over that. Has it been settled that the "hobbit" was truly fully grown? Last I read, they were classified as diminutive Homo erectus.

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Iruka Naminori wrote:I'm

Iruka Naminori wrote:
I'm also interested in the animals that branched away from from the Homo line. As I recall, there were some rather burly, heavy-jawed bipedal apes in the lineage...can't remember the names right now. It's interesting to see the whole family tree.

So, do you think Homo ergaster was the ancestor of both Neanderthals and Cro Magnons? Or did Neanderthals spring from other stock? (Or am I thinking of heidelbergensis? H. heidelbergensis was more recent, I think.)

I was also quite interested in the Homo floresiensis discovery. There was a bit of controversy over that. Has it been settled that the "hobbit" was truly fully grown? Last I read, they were classified as diminutive Homo erectus.

You're thinking of the Paranthropus robustus. They are believed to be a side branch of the pre-homo line that went extinct.

As for the whole bit between whether there was Homo Egaster in Africa, Homo Erectus in Asia, and Homo Heidelbergensis in Europe or whether they were all Homo Erectus...well that leads to almost fistfights even today among some anthropologists.

One camp says that Homo Egaster moved into Europe, evolved in Homo Heidelbergensis, then into Homo Neanderthalenisis while the remaining Homo Egaster in Africa evolved into Homo Sapiens.

The other camp says that Homo Egaster(or Homo Erectus) evolved into Homo Heidelbergensis, and then BOTH Neanderthalensis and Sapiens.

Anyway "Lucy" is in the Houston Natural History Museum right now and I will be seeing her in March!

Whoohoo!

Iruka wrote:
Yikes!

Watcher, I must be half brain-dead.  Instead of hitting "quote," I hit "edit" and edited your post.  I snipped out your paragraph about H. floresiensis.  I tried to find it again, but couldn't  I apologize profusely!!!!! Sad Sad Sad Sad Sad Sad Sad

 

 

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Iruka Naminori wrote:

Watcher wrote:

You're thinking of the Paranthropus robustus. They are believed to be a side branch of the pre-homo line that went extinct.

Hmmm...I may have been thinking of H. rudolfensis, which was a contemporary of H. habilis. I've done a little Googling and there seems to be some controversy surrounding rudolfensis.

Anyway, the discovery of H. floresiensis shows there are probably a lot of different members of the family tree. I am amused that there is some debate as to whether H. floresiensis arrived on Flores in diminutive form or evolved on the island. The argument cited is that there have been no larger remains found on the island. Well, there have been no smaller remains found on the mainland, correct? Smiling

I'm inclined to believe that H. floresiensis was a product of island dwarfism, which is well documented and is occurring even today. The tigers, rhinos and elephants of Sumatra are all smaller than those on the mainland. It doesn't take very long for a species to change in size when confronted by natural pressures, so I doubt any larger hominids will be found on Flores, especially considering it's a jungle island.

It's interesting that H. floresiensis hunted dwarf Stegodon because I was thinking of the dwarfism of mammoths that occurred on Wrangel Island.Have large mammoths been found on Wrangel? Google-ty, Google-ty, Google...couldn't find anything. Drat!

Watcher wrote:
As for the whole bit between whether there was Homo Egaster in Africa, Homo Erectus in Asia, and Homo Heidelbergensis in Europe or whether they were all Homo Erectus...well that leads to almost fistfights even today among some anthropologists.

One camp says that Homo Egaster moved into Europe, evolved in Homo Heidelbergensis, then into Homo Neanderthalenisis while the remaining Homo Egaster in Africa evolved into Homo Sapiens.

The other camp says that Homo Egaster(or Homo Erectus) evolved into Homo Heidelbergensis, and then BOTH Neanderthalensis and Sapiens.

Sounds hella confusing. Maybe if enough bones are found they can figure it out through mitochondrial DNA...but the only non-fossilized species found so far have been H. neanderthalensis, H. floresiensis and (of course) H. sapiens. The others are all too old. Flores may be too hot to have preserved much DNA info from H. floresiensis, but I'd really like to know more about those strange creatures. Their survival into fairly recent times is really strange and reminds me a bit of cryptozoological creatures. H. sapiens must have met H. floresiensis. Scientists are saying the hobbit was wiped out by a volcano, but when certain creatures disappear, I tend to look at H. sapiens and wonder. We're very destructive. Maybe the H. sapiens that met H. floresiensis had some weird-ass religion that made them think tiny people were "satanic." Smiling

Watcher wrote:
Anyway "Lucy" is in the Houston Natural History Museum right now and I will be seeing her in March!

Whoohoo!

Very cool. I am envious. I haven't been in a decent museum since I was a teenager.

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Iruka Naminori

Iruka Naminori wrote:

Sounds hella confusing. Maybe if enough bones are found they can figure it out through mitochondrial DNA...but the only non-fossilized species found so far have been H. neanderthalensis, H. floresiensis and (of course) H. sapiens. The others are all too old. Flores may be too hot to have preserved much DNA info from H. floresiensis, but I'd really like to know more about those strange creatures. Their survival into fairly recent times is really strange and reminds me a bit of cryptozoological creatures. H. sapiens must have met H. floresiensis. Scientists are saying the hobbit was wiped out by a volcano, but when certain creatures disappear, I tend to look at H. sapiens and wonder. We're very destructive. Maybe the H. sapiens that met H. floresiensis had some weird-ass religion that made them think tiny people were "satanic." Smiling

The people that live on the Island where they found Homo Flores have folklore stories about "hobbits" that are supposedly just a few centuries old.

They spoke of their odd language, how they would eat anything(even wooden bowls), and stole things from the villagers.

They have one story talking about some of them stealing a baby in the hopes of learning from it how to make fire.  That confuses me somewhat because most scientists believe that Homo Erectus could make and control fire.  But if Home Flores were descended from Homo Erectus, well when did they lose that ability?

Anyway the baby died, and the villagers burned the little critters alive in their cave.

Iruka Naminori wrote:

Very cool. I am envious. I haven't been in a decent museum since I was a teenager.

A UPS guy is driving around town this very minute with my Handaxe.  It's driving me mad!!!

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So did you get your

So did you get your handaxe?  Do you know where it's from?  Aren't you going to tell us?


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OccamsChainsaw wrote: So

OccamsChainsaw wrote:
So did you get your handaxe?  Do you know where it's from?  Aren't you going to tell us?

Yeah, I got it.  I mentioned it in General Conversations.  It was found in Algeria in the Sahara desert.  It rocks!

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Picture?

That's sweet! Can you post a picture of the biface?


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 She's a beaut, eh?

 

She's a beaut, eh?