Did our hominid ancestors leave Africa and return?

The phrase “Out of Africa” might conjure up visions of a romantic movie of 1985 or the memoirs on which they were based. To anthropologists the turn of phrase refers to the theory, dominant since the days of Charles Darwin, that our human ancestors probably evolved in this continent.

In The Real Planet of the Apes, Professor David Begun of U of T’s department of anthropology proposes that a significant component of human evolution in fact took place in Europe between nine million and 12.5 million years ago. Hominids, he argues, then drifted back to Africa in a "homecoming" response to climate change. 

Begun’s theory – called “explosive” by Princeton University Press – is based substantially on field work in which undergraduates participated.

“I felt extremely lucky to have contributed to even the most minor extent in Dr. Begun's research,” says Klara Komza, a biological anthropology major. “It was my first taste at discovering something in the field.”

U of T News writer Arthur Kaptainis talked with Begun about his theories, his book and the importance of involving undergrad students in research.FULL STORY HERE

Did our hominid ancestors leave Africa and return?

Sonic Wldebeast

A strange fossil wildebeest had hollowed-out headgear that let it trumpet like a dinosaur.

The Ice Age beast, named Rusingoryx atopocranion, lived on Kenya’s Rusinga Island between 75,000 and 50,000 years ago, back when the area was carpeted in dry grasslands. The species was previously only known from partial skulls, but now a bonebed has revealed that they were more bizarre than anyone expected.Link

Sonic Wldebeast

The Headlines are Only Half the Story

by David Farland in News & Events0 Comments

You may have heard about the Silk Road scandal in Time magazine, Wired magazine, or any of a hundred other places.

Curtis Green took a job working for a company called Silk Road, where (unknown to Curtis) his boss, nicknamed “Dread Pirate Roberts,” was trafficking drugs over the internet.

When the FBI and the DEA got wind of it, they set Curtis up in a sting operation, staging a drug bust using planted evidence.

When Curtis’s boss found out about it, he hired a hit man to cover his trail, but the FBI found out about it and staged Curtis’s assassination. The Dread Pirate Roberts got two life sentences for his crimes, but the story wasn’t over.

The FBI and DEA agents that were investigating the crimes decided to steal millions from Silk Road.  Now they’re also in prison.

Curtis wants to tell his story and clear his name. Due to legal issues, he hasn’t been able to talk or write about what happened–until now. As you can imagine, the legal bills were staggering.  So I’ve agreed to help him start a fundraiser so that he can pay for some basic help on the writing and editing of his amazing autobiography.  We’ll be kicking the fundraiser off next week, offering exciting gifts and prizes, but we need your help.

If you’ve got a blog, we’d like you to share our page when it’s up.  If you’re on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, we’d be very grateful if you would share our posts or mention it.

If you can email my assistant, Kami, at kami_marynda[at]yahoo[dot]com, we’ll make sure that you get the links that you need. Curtis is hiring me to do some editing on his autobiography and a portion of the funds that I receive from that will go to pay medical expenses for my son Ben, who suffered a traumatic brain injury three years ago.  (Yes, we’re still paying on that!)

Thank you in advance for your help and consideration.

David Farland

read More Here: Dave's Blog

The Headlines are Only Half the Story