| Two recent discoveries have called into question some things paleontologists and archeologists have held true for so long. In Africa, a three million-year-old skull was discovered that raises the question, "Where do humans come from," while in China, scientists were scratching their heads over a feathered dinosaur. |
A Major Discovery
In 1998 and 1999, a team of paleontologists led by mother and daughter Meave and Louise Leakey found some fossils at a site in Kenya, Africa. Finding new evidence of life is always exciting, but this discovery is likely to rewrite the book on human evolution. After studying over 30 skeletons, the Leakeys and their team concluded that these remains were unlike anything they had seen before. The scientists had discovered Kenyanthropus platyops, a new genus of early human.
But Kenyanthropus was not just another step in human evolution. It may have been the foundation. Scientists used to assume that we owed our existence to Australopithcus afarensis, or Lucy, as she's known to her friends. That's because Lucy was the only known hominid, or member of the primate family, to have lived in that time period. But Kenyanthropus dates back to the same time period-3.5 million years ago-as Lucy. One of these hominids went on to evolve into Homo sapiens, or humans. The other eventually became extinct. So which one of them was our direct ancestor? Scientists say they just don't know.
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(above) Unlike Australopithecus, Kenyanthropus platyops had a flat face and small teeth. Scientists believe that Kenyanthropus ate fruit, berries, small mammals, and birds. REUTERS
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(right) A 130-million year old fossil of a Dromaeosaur discovered by Chinese farmers in northeastern China's Liaoning Province, displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, April 24, 2001. REUTERS
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Dinosaurs of a Feather Flocked Together
The next time you hear a bird chirping, ask yourself whether your feathered friends hold the key to the mysteries of the dinosaur age.
Chinese farmers have discovered a 130-million-year-old fossil of a dinosaur that wore feathers. Scientists say the fossil provides evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs, and that they developed feathers for warmth, not flight.
The fossil was once a dromaeosaur, a small, carnivorous dinosaur that, like Tyrannosaurus rex, belonged to a group called "Theropods," two legged animals with sharp teeth (think of raptors from Jurassic Park). The dromaeosaur was flightless, so scientists concluded that it must have needed its feathers to keep warm.
"The smaller dinosaurs and even the young of larger species, like Tyrannosaurus rex, may have needed feathers to keep warm," said one scientist.
Experts believe that the dromaeosaur may have looked more like a bird than a dinosaur. Theropod dinosaurs and today's birds share many features, including a wishbone and three forward-pointing toes.
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Youthline's Anthology of -ologies
You've seen one fossil hunter, you've seen them all, right? Wrong, say scientists, who clearly distinguish between their specialties. Anthropology: The study of past and present human cultures and societies through observation and artifacts, or man-made objects. Archeology: A field within anthropology, archaeology concentrates on past human societies and how they changed over time. Paleontology: The study of prehistoric animal and plant life through the study of fossils.
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Dictionary:
carnivor (noun) meat eater
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