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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 MARCH-APRIL 2010 Inside P A G E 2 The power of diatoms Power of diatoms Sam L. VanLandingham
By Sam L. VanLandingham P A G E 4 Technical title: Diatom and victions. diatom/cyst age relation- chrysophyte (cyst) evidence of Forbidden Archeol- ships when they agree with an age before the Last Ice Age Frequently, archaeological the status quo of Late Entry ogy and the (>80,000 years ago) for the sites offer little specific fossil of humans into the Americas Knowledge Filter artifacts at the Hueyatlaco site, evidence which can be used (< 12,000 years ago). Michael Cremo Valsequillo area, Puebla, Mexico to interpret the age of sedi- and the case against ignoring ments and history of their However, when the diatom/ this evidence . deposition or of artifacts that cyst evidence is in disagree- PAGE 6 Sam L. VanLandingham, Consult- occur in them. A few Ameri- ment, as is the case with ing Geologist/Environmentalist can sites, such as Clovis and Hueyatlaco—one of four Ardi and Ida: On their 1205 West Washington Street, Lubbock Lake, differ in that Mexican early man sites way out Jörn Greve and Midland, TX 79701 U.S.A. they are well known to be clustered on the north shore associated with fossil dia- of the Valsequillo Reservoir Gerhard Neuhäuser some 100 km Diatoms and ESE of Mexico City—such evi- P A G E 8 chrysophytes, widely distrib- dence is very likely to be ig- Peking Man Virginia uted in oceans, lakes, rivers, nored or dis- Steen-McIntyre caves, soil, and puted. air, are tiny one-celled al- Hueyatlaco site P A G E 9 gae with silica No other ar- shells and chaeological site Phi, beauty, Neo- short life in the world is lithic Alan Cannell spans. They are known to be as- ecological indica- sociated with tors. such a complex, P A G E 1 0 highly significant Often diatoms age- and environ- and chrysophytes Book review mentally diagnos- have rapid ex- Peter Faris tic diatom se- tinctions, and quence as they have been Hueyatlaco. P A G E 1 1 used to correlate and date rocks Those who would and sediments A hint of Issue #5 wish to argue since the time of against the case Ehrenberg (1854.) for the great an- tiquity (prior to P A G E 1 2 They are espe- the Last Ice Age) cially useful in of humans in the Chimps, bonobos... oil/gas explora- New World by tion, and can Alan Cannell attacking the help determine veracity of the the environment compelling dia- of deposition and Fig. 1. Primarily extinct diatoms (single-celled algae) from the P A G E 1 4 80,000 to 430,000-year old early man site of Hueyatlaco, Mex- tom/chrysophyte age of human ico. VanLandingham 2004: Plate 4. Measure bar = 10 microme- cyst evidence at artifacts. Dia- Coloring their world ters (a micrometer = 1,000th of a millimeter) this site have toms have even Richard Dullum picked the wrong been used to determine the toms and chrysophyte cysts. place. scenes of crimes and admitted as evidence in murder con- Archaeologists usually accept > Contd on page 2
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Diatoms (contd.)
Diatoms and cysts have of which pass directly association is unknown in been found in 147 samples through and 26 of which the entire fossil record ex- from 22 distinct stratigraphic pass within 3 m of the al- cept from the Sangamonian, units at or around the leged unconformity of the and it is found in the West- Hueyatlaco site. CSFA at Hueyatlaco) and the ern Hemisphere in 6 correla- artifacts in units B, C, E, and tion lines, 4 of which pass These samples have yielded I of Irwin-Williams is elimi- directly through the alleged nated by the unconformity). presence in these lines of The odds against linking by 30 distinct dia- chance all of these samples tom taxa ex- within a diameter of < 3 m, tinct at the end combined with the corre- of the Sanga- spondence of all these many monian. diverse factors across the alleged unconformity are Fig. 2. The In addition to astronomical. It will be ex- author with a all of these tremely difficult to provide newly- extinct dia- any evidence whatsoever to unwrapped Hueyatlaco toms, 4 addi- negate all of previous diatom strati- tional well es- publications and the 37 lines graphic tablished dia- of fossil diatom correlation monolith tom correlation which dispel the imagined collected in criteria supply unconformity, and which 1973 from abundant fur- support ages of > 80,000 artifact-bearing beds 44 extant and 39 extinct ther corroboration of these years for the artifacts. (see Fryxell 1973 chrysophyte taxa and 467 80,000+ year dates for the stratigraphic profile extant and 78 extinct diatom artifacts: The attempt of the CSFA to sheet #4). taxa, many of which are age discredit the evidence for the diagnostic indicators (marker (1) percentage correlation great age of the artifacts at fossils) designating a mini- of taxa; Hueyatlaco can now be dis- mum (Sangamonian= sensu counted, along with other (2) earliest known first failed actions in the Valse- lato 80,000 - ca. 220,000 occurrences; “The odds years) and a maximum quillo region by followers of against linking (Illinoian = ca. 220,000 - (3) pennate to centric ra- the archaeological orthodoxy by chance all of 430,000 years) age these samples for the Hueyatlaco arti- within a facts. diameter of < 3 m, combined The biostratigraphy and paleoecology of with the these numerous correspondence diatoms and cysts of all these negate the likeli- many diverse hood of any rede- position, inset, or factors across such unconformity the alleged directly associated unconformity with artifact-bearing are beds at Hueyatlaco, as posited by the astronomical.” Center for the Study of the First Americans (CSFA) Fig. 3. The author at Hueyatlaco early man site, Valsequillo, Mexico, 2001. on its website
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Diatoms (contd.)
Fig .4. Stratigraphic profile of 2004 excavations at Hueyatlaco showing locations of diatom and cyst samples (colored dots).
2007 for a complete ac- tionships of rocks, or to (Sangamonian = 80,000 - ca count); contrivance of the prosecutors as evidence in 220,000 yr. BP) and a Maximum “Why would Dorenberg skull hoax; and murder cases, especially at a (Illinoian = 220,000 - 430,000 yr. BP) Age for the Hueyatlaco libelous statements made in locality which has the most it be Artifacts, Puebla, Mexico . Nova an attempt to prevent the prominent non-marine diato- Hedwigia , Beiheft 135, pp.15-36. desirable to publication of diatom evi- maceous sequence in the VanLandingham, S.L. 2009b. ignore dence for “early entry” entire world? Many of us are [VanLandingham, 2009b], waiting for an answer. Extraordinary Examples of De- ception in Peer Reviewing: Con- evidence etc. (More on the skull caper coction of the Dorenberg Skull presented by in a later issue of this news- Hoax and Related Misconduct . letter.) REFERENCES CITED International Conference on diatoms, Systemics, Cybernetics, and Battarbee, R.W. 1988. The Use Informatics , July 10-13, Orlando, In Closing, for Now... of Diatom Analysis in Archae- especially at Florida, USA, Proceedings Vol- ology: A Review. Journal of ume 1, p. 291-295. a locality Diatom analysis can be quite Archaeological Science , v. 15, p. which has the useful in archaeological stud- 621-644. VanLandingham, S. L., 2008. ies, as many, such as R. W. Diatoms and chrysophyte cysts Ehrenberg, C.G. 1854. Mikro- most Battarbee (1988) have [chrysomonads]: Powerful tools geologie . Leopold Voss, Leipzig, for determining age and paleoen- noted. Why would so many Text, 374 S: Atlas, 40 Taf.; Fort- prominent vironment of the Hueyatlaco archaeologists go out of their setzung, 88 S. non-marine way to discount or ignore an early man site, Puebla, Mexico . Presentation at the 2008 Geo- abundance of diatom evi- Hardaker, C. 2007. The First diatomaceous logical Society of America Joint dence for the great antiquity American: The Suppressed Story of the People Who Discovered Annual Meeting , Oct. 5-9, Hous- sequence in of the Valsequillo artifacts if the New World . New Page Books, ton, Texas. [Abstract published the entire so many similar diatom cor- A Division of The Career Press, in Geological Society of America relation studies have proven Inc., Franklin Lakes, NJ, 319 pp. Abstracts with Programs 40 (6): world…?” useful to large corporations 241.] VanLandingham, S.L. 2009a. Use in their multimillion-dollar of Diatom Biostratigraphy in searches for oil, to geologists Determining a Minimum in determining the age rela-
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FORBIDDEN A RCHEOLOGY AND THE K NOWLEDGE F ILTER
of evidence for extreme hu- dary literature? There appeared by Michael A. man antiquity. It contained to be a process of knowledge Cremo only reports of evidence con- filtration. Here I am not talking firming the currently dominant about a conspiracy to suppress view that humans like us truth. Instead, I am talking came into existence less than about something historians and How old is the anatomi- 200,000 years ago. philosophers of science have cally modern human spe- understood for a long time: But I went further. I looked at cies? According to the stan- theoretical preconceptions may all the primary scientific litera- dard views, human beings like determine how evidence is ture on human origins and us first came into existence treated in a scientific discipline. antiquity, from the nineteenth “Evidence that between 100,000 and Evidence that conforms to theo- century to the present. I have 200,000 years ago. Other retical preconceptions passes conforms to a reading knowledge of most sources, including the writings through the knowledge filter of the major European lan- this timeline of ancient wisdom traditions, very easily, whereas evidence guages, so I looked at reports passes say that humans like us have that radically contradicts theo- in many languages, not just existed for millions of years. retical preconceptions does not. through the In the late 1980s, I decided to English. When I looked at this knowledge fil- look into the scientific evi- primary scientific literature, I Today, the dominant theory in dence for human antiquity. found many reports of archeo- human origins is the theory of ter... logical evidence for extreme evolution, which now has a My methodology was to do a human antiquity—reports of fairly fixed timeline for human evidence that complete search of the scien- human bones, footprints, and origins, with humans like us tific literature on hu- contradicts coming into existence less man origins. The scien- than 200,000 years ago. the timeline tific literature exists in Knowledge filter Evidence that conforms to two forms, primary does not.” this timeline passes and secondary. The E through the knowledge primary scientific lit- filter, whereas evidence erature is composed of v that contradicts the time- original reports by re- line does not. searchers published in i the professional scien- Let me give two examples tific journals. The sec- of what I am talking about, ondary scientific litera- d one from the late nine- ture is composed of teenth century and one textbooks and survey e Evidence conforming to the desired from the late twentieth books that make use of timeline passes through. century. the primary scientific n In the nineteenth century, literature. c gold was discovered in My prediction was that California. To get it, miners the complete scientific e dug tunnels into the sides literature on humans of mountains, such as Ta- should contain credible ble Mountain near the reports of evidence for town of Sonora in Tuo- extreme human antiq- lumne County. Deep inside uity, evidence that the tunnels, in deposits of humans like us have existed artifacts showing that humans early Eocene age (about 50 for longer periods of time than like us existed in the distant million years old), miners found accepted by most scientists past. human bones and artifacts. The today. This led to a question: why is discoveries were carefully docu- mented by Dr. J. D. Whitney, My first step was to look at this evidence for extreme hu- man antiquity present in the the chief government geologist the current secondary litera- of California, in his monograph ture on human origins. This primary scientific literature, literature contained no reports but not in the current secon- > Contd on page 5
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Knowledge Filter (contd.)
The Auriferous Gravels of the scape, and standard strati- these discoveries and the Sierra Nevada of California, graphical analysis. All of knowledge filtration process published by Harvard Uni- these methods converged that has insured they remain versity’s Museum of Com- on an age of about 250,000 little known in our book For- parative Zoology in 1880. years for the site, well be- bidden Archeology. First But we do not hear very yond the dating limits of the published in 1993, the book much about these discover- radiocarbon method. The has gone through over a ies today. In the Smith- archeologists dozen reprint- sonian Institution Annual refused to con- ings and is Report for 1898–1899 (p. sider this date. now in several 424), anthropologist William It conflicted languages in Holmes said, with the then addition to dominant English. “Perhaps if Professor Whit- theories of ney had fully appreciated the human origins Of course, in story of human evolution as and the peo- any scientific it is understood today, he pling of the discipline, would have hesitated to an- Americas. In there does nounce the conclusions for- defense of the have to be mulated, notwithstanding dates obtained some process the imposing array of testi- by the geolo- for knowledge mony with which he was gists, Virginia filtering, some confronted.” Steen- system for McIntyre wrote deciding what In other words, if the facts evidence is did not fit the theory of hu- in a letter (March 30, deemed credi- man evolution, the facts had Forbidden Archeology: The 1981) to ble and what “A rigorously to be set aside, and that is Hidden History of the Human evidence is exactly what happened. Estella Leo- objective pold, associate Race , by Michael A. Cremo and deemed not Such knowledge filtration editor of Qua- Richard L. Thompson. 1993. credible. So scientific continued into the twentieth ternary Re- the real prob- approach was century. In the 1960s, Har- search: “The problem as I lem is not vard-trained archeologist see it is much bigger than knowledge filtering per se. distinctly Cynthia Irwin-Williams and Hueyatlaco. It concerns the The real problem is the ap- lacking from Mexican prehistorian Juan manipulation of scientific plication of double standards Armenta Camacho discov- thought through the sup- in the knowledge filtering the ered stone tools at Hueyat- pression of ‘Enigmatic Data,’ process. Ideally, there archaeology laco, near Puebla, Mexico. data that challenges the should be a single standard The stone tools were of ad- prevailing mode of thinking. for evaluating evidence that surrounding vanced type, similar to those Hueyatlaco certainly does is applied evenhandedly the early key of the European Late Paleo- that! Not being an anthro- across the board. But what lithic. A team of geologists, often happens is that evi- finds of pologist, I didn’t realize the from the United States Geo- full significance of our dates dence that contradicts domi- palaeoanthrop logical Survey and universi- back in 1973, nor how nant theories is held to an ties in the United States, impossibly high standard, ology.” deeply woven into our came to Hueyatlaco to date thought the current theory of while evidence that conforms the site. Among the geolo- human evolution has be- to dominant theories is held gists was Virginia Steen- come. Our work at Hueyat- to a very lenient standard. McIntyre. To date the site, laco has been rejected by In Forbidden Archeology, we the team used several meth- most archaeologists because documented how such a ods—uranium series dating it contradicts that theory, differential standard for on butchered animal bones period.” This remains true evaluating evidence operates found along with the tools, today, not only for the Cali- in the knowledge filtering zircon fission track dating on fornia gold mine discoveries process in archeology. The volcanic layers above the and the Hueyatlaco human result is that we are left with tools, tephra hydration dat- artifacts, but for hundreds of a radically incomplete set of ing and mineral weathering other discoveries from the facts upon which to build our studies of volcanic glass scientific literature of the theories of human origins fragments and crystals, past 150 years. and antiquity. analysis of the position of the site in the modern land- Richard L. Thompson (1947- 2008) and I documented
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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 P A G E 6 Ardi and Ida On their way —not only Out of Africa
By Jörn Greve and Gerhard Neuhäuser
Fig.1 for a reconstruction Assumptions resulting based on the data presented Interpretation and real- from methods of classifi- in that publication.) ity of the fossil record “In many cation The same might be said of the 47 million-year old fossil In contrast to Jim Harrod´s studies, primate known as Ida perspective ( PCN , 2:1, pp. outcomes In modern Western (Fig.2 ). Ida, from Messel, 12-13 ), the fossil record thought, all methodological Germany, is the only com- could tell us a story extend- tend to approaches and con- ing much farther back support cepts have the same in time than does any Aristotelian, Cartesian review of pertinent lit- what is -dualistic, Linnean erature. For there still already and Darwinian origins. remains the possibility Methods are responsi- that Ardi, and before believed ble for results, which her, Ida, did not come before the may derive from a out of Africa. cycle of self-fulfilling methodo- messages, especially From the extremely logical if just the outcome is sparse hominin fossil considered. Therefore record the first- approach is it is not surprising impression-only may designed.” that results often will result in the conclusion converge into what that there was a start- John Feliks calls an ing point near the Rift ideology ( Pleistocene Valley in Africa. Ex- Coalition News , 2:1, p. 1.) tended, and in some Fig.1. Digital reconstruction of the 4.4 mil- sense more sophisti- In many studies, out- lion-year old Hominin fossil known as Ardi cated, analyses are comes tend to support (Ardipithecus ramidus ) by T. Michael Keesey supporting another what is already be- view: lieved before the methodological approach is plete fossil of a possible Eo- If roots are followed accord- designed. cene-age (c. 56-34 million ing to the traditional concept years ago) ancestor. of evolution they also dem- Furthermore, the final inter- onstrate that different mem- [J. L. Franzen et al. 2009. pretation may seem to re- bers of the order Mammalia Complete primate skeleton flect some kind of a positiv- are very similar in their body from the Middle Eocene of istic efficiency. In such a function, even those families Messel in Germany: Mor- context much thought and that made an early adjust- phology and paleobiology. effort are applied to setting ment to bipedality, although PLoS ONE 4(5): e5723. old and even future priori- this is seldom noted. ties. However, in the current doi:10.1371/ discussion about purported journal.pone.0005723] In addition there has been a marked complexity and human ancestors, these Along with Ardi, these two worldwide distribution of make sense only in regard to “ancestors” fit well within the mammals similar in structure what we call Darwinistic evo- same monomorphic theory; and function since Eocene lution. And, by the way, this however, Ardi and Ida, as times. could also be the reason that paleontological facts, are the 4.4 million-year old actually just constructs to These monomorphic features Ardipithecus ramidus fossil achieve some historical evi- can be extended if we con- known as Ardi was inter- dence in support of Darwin- sider multi-variant primate preted overall as originally ism. published in Science . (See > Contd on page 7
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Ardi and Ida (contd.) functions causing similar chance of finding fossil evi- processes, not just caused structure and function. Dif- dence in India and China to by a selfish or divine gene. ferences may be caused by support these and other hy- so called “missing links,” for potheses. In this context, we Development is not only instance, if a specific origin also have to consider special characterized by complexity for hominization is sug- conditions like mummifica- and variability but related to gested. tion in the former Messel the given environment as a lake (e.g., Ida.) simple Lamarckian aspect. Regarding these facts, we need to present divergent We have to consider im- and variable theories of portant long-term epi- origin, even though they genetic influences which can make the whole plot alter basic structures like of evolution almost po- nucleotides and other etic. compounds of the mo- lecular matrix. We should consider more than one hypothesis For instance, virus- about the origin of man- triggered mutations kind and take into ac- result in a process count a variety of roots: of iteration and such as the Tarsiiformian multivariable from a special Maki (ring- sprouting analogue tailed lemur) now living to Mandelbrot’s as ancestor-relics in mathematical model Madagascar; Omo- of fractals; and myoidian formerly living these “operations” have been taking in the Eocene of North “It seems America and Europe; place for more than six Adapoidians from nearly million years. obvious the same regions; and The process of innova- that evolu- the Eosimians formerly tion and generation of tion and living from China to complexity is not des- Northern Africa. tined to decline and stag- the Dar- Because of this tre- nate; these consequences winian are caused by our own mendous variability in principle of the origins of pre- break-down products and primate mammals, it is pollution in a dialectical natural se- manner. not easy to choose lection will where to place the ori- Development always has gins of Ardi or Ida, who Fig.2. The 47 million-year old notharctid fossil known two directions and in- never be certainly had compan- as Ida (Darwinius masillae) from Messel, Germany. cludes creation as well the only ions, especially Ida Inset represents X-rays of the fossil. Franzen et al. as destruction. (Darwinius masillae), in 2009. PLoSl ONE 4(5): e5723. Used with permission. possible “Selection” under these Germany as well as in way.” Africa. circumstances represents only a term to describe some There are different ways by Conclusions background for a visible out- which mankind could have come of fractals, and it also “emerged” during Eocene comprises only one aspect of times, following a global We have to state the possi- the possible fossil record. pattern from Europe, North bility of complex relations in America (Texas), Northern evolution and development. Like evolution itself, natural Africa, China and India, as selection as a theory does This argument agrees well well as from Southern Asia. not exist in real life—with with the fossil record. It the exception of social sup- [E.g., see J. L. Franzen’s seems obvious that evolution pression. There are always “Taphonomic Analysis of the and the Darwinian principle dialectic relations and recip- Messel Formation of natural selection will never rocity to take into account, (Germany),” in G. F. Gunnel be the only possible way. and there are good exam- (ed.) 2001, Eocene Biodiver- Therefore we are in favor of ples for “involution,” as we sity: Unusual Occurrences and a more holistic view: Life, its hope to further explain in Rarely Sampled Habitats.] future and living beings are our forthcoming articles in There should be a good the result of self-structuring this newsletter.
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Peking man And a small branch of that long-cold trail leads to --Evergreen, Colorado!?
by Virginia Steen-McIntyre
shipment (in Archivist a redwood
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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 P A G E 9 PHI , BEAUTY , AND THE N EOLITHIC
By Alan Cannell
The slideshow, architectural works head then sloping back at 18 Deep Roots of of the Greeks, Pal- degrees before curving inwards Aesthetic Design , ladio and Corbusier at a tangent with a larger makes the case perfected. Golden Ellipse – which has a that our modern central chord 1.62 (Phi) longer tastes in design, A recent exposition than the object. The relation of very often expres- in New York, re- length to width is 2.62 (Phi 2) . sions of the Golden ported by the Ratio - Phi, can be Times, (http:// The second jadeite axe head traced back to Pa- www.nytimes.com/ (Fig.3) had also never been leolithic tool for- slide- used and was again an object of mats (although we show/2009/11/25/ ritual or art. At 6000 years old, must admit that science), shows a this head is slightly older and If you the cherry-picking 6000 year old Fe- was found in Wroot, Lincoln- of illustrations and male Figurine shire. The geometry is simple: would like samples is a real (Fig.1) in fired clay the length is twice the width from Cucuteni, and the blade is a composite possibility). On the to submit a other hand, it has (Romania). ellipse formed by two Golden Fig.1. 6000 year old Female also been sug- Ellipses, again, one half the size Figurine in fired clay from This elaborately letter or gested that mod- of the other. Cucuteni, (Romania). decorated figure ern design may has a curved torso The possibility that these items article for have been strongly influenced that corresponds to a Golden have been cherry-picked still by western culture: we have all Ellipse and thighs that are set at exists; however, as they were publication been brainwashed by a dictator- 36 degrees, (my own modifica- each made to be objects of art ship of aesthetic values, as it tions). Although not marked, and/or for ritual rather than for in were. So it is worth checking to the ‘rib’ and ‘belly’ markings are practical use, the craftsmanship see what was considered to be 18 degrees to the horizontal and that has gone into these designs the ‘arm’ stripes are set at 36 is a strong indication that men- Pleistocene degrees to the vertical, angles tal templates were involved to that are Coalition expressions of the News , Golden Ratio. please e-
Other items mail the of delicate beauty from the editor or same pe- riod are Virginia actual stone tools: Steen- Fig.3. 6000 year old handaxe from Lincolnshire, England two axe heads of make the axes pleasing and McIntyre Italian jadeite that were re- desirable. cently presented in a BBC pro- duction (and from which the The craftsmen could not have original images were taken been influenced by any other art (www.bbc.co.uk/ form other than the making of ahistoryoftheworld/objects). stone axes, which strongly sug- gests that these templates have The first axe (Fig.2), some 5000 been used for a very long time. years old, was found in Canter- bury and had never been hafted The imported stone was cer- Fig.2. 5000 years old handaxe from or used – a sign that it was tainly expensive and it is tempt- Canterbury, England made for ritual or as an object ing to think that the axes were of expensive art. actually made in Italy – perhaps beauty back in the Neolithic, a very early demonstration of long before the math of the Note that the head is formed by the flair for design that Italians Golden Ratio had been devel- a perfect Golden Ellipse, the are still rightly famous for? oped and the
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World trade and biological exchanges before 1492 Book Review By Peter Faris
“... a number February 15, 2010 that had originated in BOOK REVIEW - the Old World and were of the exam- returning home after a ples that voyage that had World Trade and reached the Americas. went from Biological Ex- the Ameri- changes Before I do not question that there was pre- cas to the 1492 Columbian contact be- Old World tween the Old World and the New World. could have Sorenson, John L., and Carl L. Johannessen, Since the 1960 discov- been taken ery of L'Anse aux Mead- 2009, iUniverse, Inc., ows (dated to approxi- back by par- New York mately 1000 AD) on the ties that had northernmost tip of originated in This very interesting book is Newfoundland in the essentially about evidence of Canadian province of the Old pre-Columbian contact Newfoundland and Lab- World and across the Atlantic and Pa- rador we have had cific oceans. The authors proof of pre-Columbian were return- find evidence in the distribu- trans-oceanic contact by ing home af- tion of flora and fauna found the Norse. There are on opposite sides of the rumors of Eskimos pad- ter a voyage ocean. The assumption is dling their kayaks into that had that there had to have been the Thames River, sto- Temple sculpture holding an ear of a vector which caused this ries of the large Chinese maize, Somnathpur, India, 11th - 13th reached the distribution because natural exploration fleets of the cent., Fig. 1, p. 489, World Trade and Biological Exchanges Before 1492. Photo: causes do not seem to be a early 15th century, and Americas. ” Carl L. Johannessen. totally satisfactory answer. the recent theories of Smithsonian archaeolo- Co-author Carl Johannessen gist Dr. Dennis Stanford who have survived the trek pointed out to this writer postulates trans-Atlantic across the arctic from Sibe- that in their book they have contact between the prehis- ria through Alaska to carry recorded “13 plants that toric Solutrean culture of that disease to the popula- came into the Americas and Europe and the Clovis cul- tion of the Americas (and if 84 plants left the Americas ture in North America. they did not walk in through for the Asian and other Beringia they must have tropical and subtropical What Sorenson and Johan- sailed in across the Atlantic zones in the Euro-African nessen have done is provide or Pacific ocean). Other evi- realm.” If this is, in fact, a large body of evidence of dence toward this conclusion correct that would represent possible trans-oceanic con- is provided by the facts that thirteen opportunities for the tact based upon the evi- some of these diseases do external influences which dence of flora and fauna not occur in North America are central to the epigra- found on both sides of (considered unlikely if the pher’s theories to come into oceans, and of diseases and disease had been carried contact with native peoples parasites that are likewise across North America in ei- of the Americas. Indeed a found on both sides of ther direction), and that larger number than this 13 oceans but which should not many of the parasitic organ- could be assumed because a have been able to pass over isms require residence in number of the examples that the Bering land bridge be- warm, moist soil during a went from the Americas to cause of the restrictions of portion of their life cycle the Old World could have the cold valve which as- been taken back by parties sumes that a person weak- > Contd on page 11 ened by disease would not
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World trade book review (contd.)
prior to transferring to a new beyond L’anse aux Meadows After reading World Trade host and these conditions took place between the old and Biological Exchanges were not available in North- and new worlds. I just have Before 1492 no-one should ern latitudes. assumed that there was no be able to categorically deny likely cultural effect from the possibility of such pre- “Instead of What is most admirable these visits. Now, with the Columbian cross-ocean con- about this volume is that scale of visitation implied by tact without disproving or telling us instead of citing a few facts this much evidence we may explaining away literally what we and building them into a have to leave more room for thousands of pieces of data huge theoretical edifice, the the possibility of cultural assembled by the authors, a should be- authors have given us rela- influence as well. daunting task indeed! lieve, they tively few pages (90) of ex- planation and conclusions, give us the and a huge amount of data. data and They have not allowed themselves to be side- trust us to tracked into speculating on A HINT OF UPCOMING ISSUE #5! decide for the “who”, they have re- stricted themselves to the ourselves. ” what. They have provided 396 pages of Appendixes in which they cite thousands of sources. Perhaps the best illustration of this is their section (pages 361-78) on Zea mays – Indian corn. They include some fifty sources on facts and data pertaining to evidence on the question of pre- Columbian distribution of corn in the Old World. In- stead of telling us what we should believe, they give us the data and trust us to de- cide for ourselves. Their very extensive bibliography fills 64 pages, and they have even included a 10 page Index of Authors, both of which will be invaluable to researchers. Their 16 illus- trations show visual evi- dence of this distribution of flora and fauna including Figure 1 (above) showing an Indian sculpture from be- tween the 11th and 13th centuries of an Apsara hold- ing what can only be inter- preted as an ear of corn (maize).
So what have I decided for myself? As I said above I did not deny the fact of pre- Columbian contact, I just discounted it. I assume that some pre-Columbian contact
PLEISTOCENE COALITION NEWS
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 P A G E 1 2 Chimps, bonobos and Homo
GENTLY PUTTING THE MOLECULAR CLOCKS BACK
By Alan Cannell
In the previous Newsletter (Department of Genetics, Rut- three years. (Pleistocene Coalition News gers University of New Jersey) 2:1, January-February) a set in Molecular Biology and Evo- Instead, the PLoS paper uses of ‘five predictions’ were lution vol. 22 no. 2, 2005. different and rather confus- set out to provoke some ing values of human/chimp discussion on possible ‘hot The contents are highly tech- separation of 5.4, 7 and topics’ in paleoanthropol- nical and complex, but the 8mya to ‘rework’ (‘fudge’ ogy for the new decade. I upshot of both papers is that perhaps would be more fit- was recently asked if I would bonobos and chimps sepa- ting) the old data, and then put my money where this rated about 800kya ago blandly states that: “ the digital ink is and the immedi- (according to the Max Plank population separation of 1.29 ate reply was a yes; a hun- paper) or 860-890kya mya (1.14–1.45) … is consis- dred bucks on each point. (according to the Rutgers tent with, but more precise The reason for such convic- data). This was five years ago. than, previous estimates… If The Congo River at Matadi, we had instead used an 8 tion is simple: I cheated. A more recent paper in PLoS Republic of Congo, Africa Take, for example, the sec- mya rather than 7 mya cali- Genetics (April 2008, Volume bration for human- ond prediction regarding the 4, Issue 4) reexamined the homo -chimp genetic split. chimpanzee genetic diver- data and carried out further gence - within the range of “This geological Until very recently this was DNA testing: given as 6mya (maximum); dates consistent with the date refers to the ‘prediction’ suggested Analysis of Chimpanzee fossil record - the upper end the formation of that genetic scientists will History Based on Genome of two of these credible in- tervals would have over- the Congo River admit that this split could be Sequence Alignments , Jen- closer to around 9mya … nifer L. Caswell et al, lapped the geological date.” system which (Department of Genetics - This geological date refers to forms the The very recent discussion of Harvard Medical School, the the formation of the Congo dividing line the chimp-bonobo genetic Harvard Department of An- River system which forms separation may have slipped the dividing line between the between the thropology, the Harvard and our reader’s attention. To MIT Broad Institute and the two species of Pan (neither two species of refresh the collective mem- Berkeley Department of Mo- can swim) and which is esti- Pan (neither ory, two independent papers lecular and Cell Biology). This mated to have formed can swim) and were produced in the mid work (as can well be imag- around 1.5-2 mya. ‘naughties’: which is ined) is even more complex So here we have an ad- Evidence for a Complex and detailed, however, based mission that the separa- estimated to on the new data and using a have formed Demographic History of tion of chimps from what Chimpanzees, Anne Fischer, human/chimp separation of were still called pygmy around 1.5-2 Victor Wiebe, Svante Paabo, 7my (instead of the traditional chimps in the 80s took mya.” and Molly Przeworski (Max 6 my) the Author’s Summary place around 1.3 mya Plank Institute for Evolution- estimates that the bonobo/ (more plus than minus ary Anthropology) in Molecu- chimp separation took place 12%) and that a date of 1.3mya. human/chimp speciation This was two years ago. of 8 mya (say, also plus or minus 12% or a million These studies produced fasci- years) is probably a bet- nating insights on how each ter match of the fossil and species of Pan [the scientific geological records. name for chimpanzees and bonobos] has evolved, while The original work on human/ retaining common – but differ- chimp separation was carried ent – genetic features with out in 1967 by Sarich and Homo [the scientific name for Wilson, which arrived at a separation of humans and Bonobo/chimpanzee distribution (bonobo population in red) as sepa- humans]. However, an im- chimps around 5mya. A rated by the Congo River (Wikimedia Commons) portant - and unmentioned -conclusion is that the number of other studies then lar Biology and Evolution vol. highly sophisticated com- revised this – at the time - 21 no. 5, 2004; and munity of top level molecu- sensational value to even lar geneticists has updated lower values: a brief 2.7mya Divergence Population the chimp/bonobo split by in: Dating of the human- Genetics of Chimpanzees , some 50%- from 800kya to Yong-Jin Won and Jody Hey 1.3 mya - in the space of > Contd on page 13
PLEISTOCENE COALITION NEWS
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 P A G E 1 3
Chimps, bonobos and Homo (contd.) ape splitting by a molecular Now, as the current initial female casually popping out a change in clock of mitochondrial DNA , reproductive cycle is about 6-7 the human/chimp split from 6 to Hasegawa, et al. ( Journal of years for baboons, 12-14 years 9 mya. To avoid discrediting the Molecular Evolution 1985), until, for the great apes and 18- science and losing potential in- more recently, a value of 5.4 twentysomething years for hu- terest and funds, a change of mya was reached in Human and mans, so all of us with a numeri- this magnitude will have to be Ape Molecular Clocks and cal background might think of digested in small bite-sizes Constraints on Paleontologi- carrying out a simple check on spread over several years. A nod cal Hypotheses , Stauffer, the number of generations here and a wink there. Walker et al. ( The Journal of He- passed (assuming a linear rate of redity 2001). change of the reproductive cycle Other reasons are perhaps even for the sake of the argument). more complex: if the split took place about 9mya, this event Younger dates of the chimp/ The following table gives the time from 30 million years ago to would be firmly placed in the homo split were, of course, far Miocene, when there was a con- more tinuous sensa- land tional Date BP (mya) reproductive cycle (y ) Generations in each block of mass than across 5my simply the confirm- 30 to 25 6 833.333 southern ing older end of esti- 25 to 20 9 555.556 the Red mates - Sea link- “To avoid always 20 to 15 12 416.667 ing Africa discredit- useful to the when ing the 15 to 10 15 333.333 tropical looking forests of science for fund- 10 to 5 18 277.778 Eurasia, and losing ing. But (as potential for those 5 to 0 21 238.095 known interest of us from who find and funds, Total 2.654.762 evaporite these depos- a change values a one-sixth 442.460 its). The of this little split hard to accept in the face of a magnitude the Present, the estimated repro- could have happened anywhere new date of 1.3my separating within this ‘ape paradise’; differ- will have chimps and bonobos (and are not ductive cycles and the number of to be di- generations in each ‘block’ of 5 ent branches wandering off, comfortable with the changes in some certainly to Africa where gested in the Y chromosome, often quoted million years. The average reproductive cycle they evolved into chimps and small bite- as ‘unusually rapid’) it should be australopiths, but with still noted that many of these papers works out at 13.5 years – similar sizes to that of the modern large apes enough time to allow an offshoot used complicated models to ana- to wander (on two feet) back spread lyze the genetic data and that – and a total of some 2.7 million generations have passed since again into Asia and evolve into over sev- include a basic ‘reproductive gen- something interesting. For the eration cycle’ of 20 years. Quot- the assumed divide between eral years. apes and Cercopithecoidea. One majority of western professionals ing the Molecular Systematics who have staked whole lives and A nod here Group of Lund University, Swe- sixth is 442 thousand genera- and a wink tions, which in turn corresponds careers searching for human den: “Sarich and Wilson’s esti- ancestors in Africa, believing that there.” mate was based on the observa- to a date closer to the number of generations that have passed in a wondrous fossil lies just a few tion that the molecular distance hundred thousand years back between Homo, Pan and Gorilla the last 10 million years and not the simplistic 5 million. from Australopithecus africanus was about 1/6th of that between or that habilis really existed, this any of these species and the A final question remains: why is represents a nightmare scenario. baboon (Cercopithecoidea). Since the academic community so loath Molecular biologists are wise to Sarich and Wilson had placed the to push back the date of human/ tread lightly on this land bridge. divergence between Cercopithe- chimp separation? The first rea- coidea and Hominoidea at son is, of course, human nature But this takes us to the first pre- 30 MYBP, the automatic outcome itself; nobody likes to admit an diction; that the Chinese will of this calculation was the three error; and if a whopping 50% produce an erectus tooth or fossil species of great apes had separated increase in time for the separa- fragment dated to 2.4 mya and about 5mya (30 divided by 6 ).” tion of two species of chimps can claim erectus evolved in Asia. be glossed over as ‘consistent’, Do I have any takers? the same would not be true of
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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 P A G E 1 4
Coloring their world in the ice age PIGMENT USE BY PALEOLITHIC MAN
By Rick Dullum
Recent finds by archae- the most ancient use of was placed under a slab of ologist João Zilhão in two ochre pigment yet discov- rock which was painted blue coastal rock shelters of ered in Europe. Zilhão and (as the sky is blue?) on the Spain’s Murcia region, Cuevo his team from England’s underside. The body was Anton and Cuevo Aviones, Bristol University found yel- covered in ochre and flower low goethite and red hema- garlands. Such actions tite painted on a pierced would suggest that H. nean- king scallop ( Pecten maxi- derthalensis exhibited reli- mus ) shell. Two pierced dog- gious and ritual behaviors cockleshells ( Glycymeris we formerly attributed only insubrica ) were found that to H. sapiens (modern man). had been painted with red hematite. Three shells of A noted Neanderthal expert, Spondylus gaederopus Dr. Erik Trinkaus, of Wash- (thorny oyster), one con- ington University, St. Louis, taining traces of lepido- Mo., writes, “There is noth- crocite mixed with hematite ing in Neanderthal anatomy: and pyrite, another with cerebral, oral, etc., that would have kept them from Location of Spain’s Murcia region mixtures of charcoal, dolo- mite, hematite and pyrite, being completely artis- have focused attention on were found at Aviones, sug- tic” (pers. comm.). In other the emergence of Early gesting cosmetic use for the words, they match the po- Man’s art and body deco- pigment mixtures. tential of Modern man for ration. We know that mod- artistic expression of any ern humans, first entering In earlier work at other kind. European and Near Eastern Europe around 38-40 KYA, Now we must ask ourselves: were well-acquainted with sites, it was discovered that Neanderthals buried their at what point in their devel- painting techniques as evi- opment denced by the quality of dead, cover- did early their cave art, and we com- man “Perhaps a monly view modern humans ing the bones start fall into a as being the first to use using colored body painting. with ochre, pig- mud-puddle Yet, it is a Middle Paleolithic demon- ments? sparked the denizen charged with the strating Perhaps first use of body adornment that a fall idea [of into a body paint- 50,000 years ago, estab- they lished by carbon-dating. The at- colored ing].” epitome of the crude cave- tached mud- man, Homo neanderthalen- a sym- puddle sis or simply Neanderthals, bolic sparked turns out to be the first impor- the European on record to adorn tance idea? Front and back views of a painted and pierced Perhaps the body. Along with many to King Scallop shell ( Pecten maximus ). Photo by stone tools of the Chatelper- color. J. Zilhão. Used with permission. the mud ronean type (typically asso- As one bath ciated with Neanderthals), researcher remarked, it was was intentional, and had the we also find teeth—both as if the ochre acted as a utilitarian value of insect human and other mammal— replacement for the flesh relief? Primitive man would pierced to string on neck- once on the bones. In one have observed his prey ani- laces, shell pendants, and cave floor burial, the corpse mals as they rolled and wal-
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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 P A G E 1 5
Coloring their world (contd.)
lowed in the mud and lithic level. Their land was in an area of dense mos- dust, to protect their known as the ‘Land of the quito infestation, albeit, in a hides. In fact, this mud- Red Earth Men’. The mod- culture of high artistic abil- and-dust bath is seen to- ern Maoris of New Zealand ity, as well. day in hunter-gatherer use ochre to ward off bit- tribes living a near-stone- ing insects and mosqui- This brief overview of age pigment use among Pa- exis- leolithic tence Man , in iso- shows, lated from the “In fact, this areas archaeo- mud-and-dust of our logical world. evidence bath is seen (which is today in Ochre minimal) hunter- is still and the gatherer tribes used as anthro- an in- pological living a near- sect- observa- stone-age repel- tion of existence in lent, Stone isolated areas and in Age- the type of our world.” not- cultures too- extant distant today or past, recently the extinct, Beo- that thuk pig- Indians Neanderthal man portrayed with red face makeup. Neanderthal Museum, Dus- ments of the seldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany (Image public domain). were eastern used in Labrador coast colored toes, and a popular line of three ways: their entire bodies with herbal remedies sold in ochre, to protect against 1) as a form of insect America, based on bees- repellent, the numerous biting flies wax, features an insect and mosquitoes in their repellent that includes red 2) as an artistic me- lands. It’s where the ex- ochre. dium, and pression ‘Red Indians’ came from, courtesy of Use of ochre is confirmed 3) as a part of ritual John Cabot. Red ochre is in the Upper Paleolithic site behavior connected to reli- used in India today, as it at Sunghir, Russia, dated gious expression. has been for untold centu- at 26-28 thousand years Such behavior as noted in ries, mixed with rice pow- ago. Excavators there 2) and 3) has usually been der and poured out in de- found a hollowed-out, regarded by scholars as signs across door thresh- highly polished, robust only within the capacity of olds to keep out unwanted human femur packed with the fully human mind, and crawling insects. The resi- red ochre, buried with the its finding in association dents of ancient Armenia skeleton of a young male, with Neanderthal sites sug- near Lake Urmia—a saline, whose grave and body gests that they had these mosquito-ridden lake with were covered with red same capacities. Perhaps no outlet—coated the in- ochre (and hundreds of the Neanderthals initiated sides of their dwellings mammoth-tusk ivory the impulse to artistic ex- with red ochre, as revealed beads, but that’s another pression after all. by excavation at the Neo- story!). Again, this occurs
PLEISTOCENE COALITION NEWS
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 P A G E 1 6
• Learn the real story of our Palaeolithic ancestors, a story about highly-intelligent and innovative people, a story quite unlike that promoted by mainstream science.
• Explore and regain confidence in your The own ability to think for yourself regarding human ancestry as a broader range of Pleistocene Coalition evidence becomes available to you.
• Join a community not afraid to chal- Challenging the precepts of lenge the status quo. Question any para- mainstream scientific agendas digm promoted as "scientific" that is so delicate as to require withholding conflict- ing data in order to appear unchallenged.
PLEISTOCENE COALITION CONTRIBUTORS to this Special thanks NEWS, Vol. 2: Issue 2 ISSUE We would like to extend our © Copyright 2010 Sam L. VanLandingham special thanks to Tom Baldwin
for taking on the daunting role PUBLICATION DETAILS Michael Cremo of avocational editor and con- EDITOR Jörn Greve tributing his broad scope and John Feliks insights in helping to bridge Gerhard Neuhäuser the gap between the layman reader and specialist authors COPY EDITORS Richard Dullum who are often accustomed to Virginia Steen-McIntyre Alan Cannell writing in a highly-technical Tom Baldwin style. Great job, Tom! Tony Mitton
Virginia Steen-McIntyre ADVISORY BOARD
Virginia Steen-McIntyre Peter Faris
John Feliks (Knowledge Filter graphic)
PLEISTOCENE COALITION NEWS