BUSINESSBUSINESS NAMENAME BUSINESSBUSINESS NAMENAME Pleistocene coalition news VOLUME 11, ISSUE 6 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2019 Inside -- ChallengingChallenging thethe tenetstenets ofof mainstreammainstream scientificscientific aagg e e n n d d a a s s -- We at PCN want to thank everyone for making our 10th Anniversary Issue (Issue #61, P A G E 2 September-October 2019) such a success and we thank everyone for writing us. Denisovan news: As most now realize, founding member and central figure of the Pleistocene Coaltiion, Dr. Vir- Keeping these re- markable though ginia Steen-McIntyre’s, recent stroke and other illnesses have become a concern for all those enigmatic people who know her and work Readers were taken by surprise with Tim Holmes’ up front with her as well as for our ‘Paleolithic human dispersals via natural floating readers. The loss of her Tom Baldwin platforms, Part 1 ’ last issue. crucial roles as writer, In contrast to presumed ocean P A G E 4 travel via sailing or paddling scientific advisor, core 10 years ago in PCN manmade watercraft Holmes PCN editor, writer organ- From comparing aerial Dr. Virginia Steen- suggested a third way has izer, etc., while she recov- views of the Middle East with South McIntyre’s first been downplayed in anthro- ers has also added to our A natural pumice raft African cir- In Their Own Words pology and readers re- other editors’ responsibili- cles over column sponded, asking, “Why is this idea not better ties and difficulty in keep- known?” Holmes is still working to finish Part 2. 6,000 miles Virginia Steen-McIntyre ing up. As an all-volunteer away to pro- staff we are doing our viding brief P A G E 5 We can’t best to maintain the overviews of Putting megalithic overstate venue and appreciate your concrete- sites into Paleo- how unex- support both publicly and making ancient cultures and lithic contexts, pected for behind-the-scenes. Here the 12,000-year old origins Baalbek, Part 2 : mainstream of the ‘Paleolithic swastika’ are a few of your com- Rockey Whipkey brings Enigmas of con- anthropology are the 50,000-year ments not yet posted on old profound technological discov- unexpected perspective to struction our homepage: eries at Denisova Cave, Siberia. the famous megalithic site Rockey Whipkey They show the longtime doctrine that Paleolithic “Your excellent work is of Baalbek, Lebanon, which he visited in 2018. P A G E 8 people were not quite us needs to be overhauled much appreciated.” if not discarded altogether. Genetic scientists See Whipkey p.5 . Member news and are now asking what might the Denisovans have “Beautiful. Superbly done!” other info looked like? See Baldwin p.2 . “Congratulations on your Our readers, Tim 10th Anniversary Issue. Holmes, Virginia Steen- Engineer and rock art researcher, I found every article of McIntyre, John Feliks Ray Urbaniak , continues to interest and valuable to intrigue PCN readers with compel- my own research.” P A G E 9 ling evi- dence and “Really great stuff!” Giant ground sloths perspective “No doubt, very percep- and rethinking the regarding life expectancy of tive. Presses it home.” Native American prehis- pictographs tory. This issue, Urbaniak “Let me congratulate you on Ray Urbaniak continues his rare animal your successful publication depictions theme, this of valid information of great In PCN 10 years ago P A G E 1 2 time, with evidence for wealth in the science and Along with other compelling Dissecting a pre-extinction portrayals geophysics of the Pleistocene.” articles in of the giant ground sloth our Issue #2, woolly mammoth and mammoths. See Pleistocene petroglyph image We hope you enjoy Urbaniak p.9 and p.12 . Coalition Ray Urbaniak PCN #62! founding member, Dr. Readers have been enjoying the online kudos section of our homepage. P A G E 1 4 Virginia Steen- Some, however, have found the amount almost overwhelming and hard to believe The Impact of Fos- McIntyre such feedback can exist for a publication challenging mainstream sils , searchable text, wrote her first consensus—such as what they were taught via media, school, or ‘In their own words’ column. Installment 1 university. Lifelong connections to outright false or debatable infor- This is where she regularly mation taught as fact are hard to break. That is why at PCN we rec- John Feliks exposed how the mainstream ommend teaching critical thinking skills to children at an early age. P A G E 1 7 gets so tangled up trying to reconcile “facts” with their References for The In Issue #61 , the abstract and brief background were provided predetermined beliefs that the Impact of Fossis , for a published paper called The Impact of Fossils—about how early irony or understatement can Installment 1 humans could have been influenced by fossils—and how the paper was be unbearable. Here research- blocked by competitive researchers promoting low intelligence in early peoples. ers essentially say, “Despite John Feliks Comments from well-known experts were provided to show the censorship did not the facts, we still believe reflect objective opinion. This is the first main-text installment. See Feliks p.14 . what we believe.” See p.4 . VOLUME 11, ISSUE 6 P A G E 2 Denisovan news: Keeping these remarkable yet enigmatic people up front By Tom Baldwin “This time it In order to help correct our viruses cannot is a jaw bone, longtime erroneous picture copy thus ren- of Paleolithic people , it is dering them and the man- important to keep in mind immune to vi- just how unexpected ral-caused dis- are the 50,000-year old eases. discoveries at Denisova Cave, Siberia. Another group of scientists was It wasn’t that long ago studying which groups of people called genes do what, Fig. 2. Artistic rendering of a young female Denisovan “prehistoric,” now more like determining based on DNA analysis. Maayan Harel ( PCN crop). commonly referred to eye color, skin as “Paleolithic,” from tone, hair (or its Like” ( New Scientist , Sept. 19, Homo erectus to Nean- lack), etc. The day may 2019) containing challenges derthals were thought come when they can take a by such as anthropologist of as not quite us . Due sample of one’s DNA, put it John Hawks at the University to the needs of the pre- through a computer and use of Wisconsin-Madison. vailing paradigm, Paleo- it to make a picture of what lithic people were pre- a person looks like. Work It is interesting to note, sumed to be much less along those lines is, in fact, however, that since the pic- intelligent and sophisti- being done today only the ture came out another cated. Many readers of main- subject isn’t modern people Denisovan bone has been dible is like stream science continue to but one of our ethnic ances- found. This time it is a jaw what the first hold this view even though tors, the Denisovans. bone, and the mandible is the actual evidence as like what the first group of I’ve regularly empha- The Denisovans are both the researchers predicted in sized in PCN doesn’t newest and most interesting eight out of nine points. support the idea. This is branch on our collective fam- one reason I like to ily tree or genealogy. So, * * * there is a great deal of curi- remind our readers of Every archaeologist is what this group of peo- osity as to what they may have looked like. anxious to be the first to ple were capable of, find a complete or nearly their exquisite jewelry The challenge of creating a complete Denisovan including artistic-quality physical likeness of the skeleton. The problem is beads and bracelets and Denisovans when all we that of finding any skeleton sewing needles of a have to go on are a few as early man did not leave technological design bone fragments and teeth many for us to locate. Sec- equal to that in use initially seemed impossible. ond, in most of the bones we today ( Fig. 1 ). This is However, scientists, using do have, the DNA has de- the most important DNA from those sources graded to the point of being aspect of the Denisova compared them with hu- useless for sequencing. Cave discoveries. man and chimpanzee DNA. Denisova Cave where the Two new items our In the process they came majority of Denisovan DNA readers might find up with a likeness of how has been found, is located in of interest they think the average Siberia and is quite cool. In Denisovan might have ap- fact, the cave’s year-round The first deals with peared ( Fig. 2 ). average temperature is in Denisovan DNA. It is the 30’s on the Fahrenheit Fig. 1. Reminder of the star- astounding what scien- Despite how appealing, right scale. It is like a refrigerator tlingly-modern and sophisti- tists can do with DNA up, we’ve got to note that inside and that is what has cated quality of 50,000-year old other scientists decried the Denisovan technology and art. today. Just yesterday preserved the DNA in the I was watching a story image and the scientific work bones found there. on the television program 60 that went into its construction. group of re- Minutes where they were One article, in fact, was ti- Excavations at Denisova experimenting with changing tled, “This Is Almost Certainly Cave, however, have located searchers Not What Denisovans Looked predicted.” a person’s DNA to one that > Cont. on page 3 PLEISTOCENE COALITION NEWS VOLUME 11, ISSUE 6 P A G E 3 Denisovan news: Remarkable and enigmatic people (cont.) only a few pieces of bone and Homo sapiens.