{"id":1257,"date":"2017-06-16T00:05:24","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T00:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=1257"},"modified":"2022-12-28T18:28:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T18:28:30","slug":"oldest-human-fossils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/","title":{"rendered":"Oldest Human Fossils?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#origins\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/20170612-_96388524_figure-11-philipp-gunz-mpi-eva-leipzig-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>Humanity&#8217;s current model may be a whole lot older than we thought.<\/p>\n<p>A team of scientists say that remains found in Morocco are human, Homo sapiens. The scientists also say these folks lived about 300,000 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>They were around 100,000 years earlier and about 2,000 miles away from where we thought Homo sapiens showed up. If their identity and age is confirmed, we&#8217;ll be rewriting and rethinking our knowledge of humanity&#8217;s origins.<\/p>\n<p>Other scientists say T. rex may not have been fluffy. It looks like the big dinosaur lost its feathers somewhere along the line.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>God thinks big\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#opportunities\">Opportunities for Appreciation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#universe\">This Universe as a Desktop Project<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#it\">It Happened Earlier<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>In the news\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#origins\">Origins: A New Chapter in Humanity&#8217;s Story<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#tools\">Tools, Neanderthals, and Anthropometry<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#tweety\">Tweety Rex? Maybe Not<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#facts\">Facts and Chicken Feet<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#tweet\">Tweet! Tweet! \u2014 <strong>SHRIEK!<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#dinosaur\">Dinosaur Feathers?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h4><a name=\"opportunities\"><\/a>Opportunities for Appreciation<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/the-minden-monster-what-killed-lucy\/#even\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20140708-678px-Geological_time_spiral-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Graham, Joseph, Newman, William, Stacy\/U.S. Geological Survey's 'The geologic time spiral\u2014A path to the past (ver. 1.1)' (2008)\" align=\"right\"><\/a>I&#8217;m a Christian, a Catholic, so I accept that God is creating a good, orderly, and knowable world. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P3.HTM#PENT.GEN.1.31\">Genesis 1:31<\/a>; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 268, 279, 299, 301)<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m also fascinated by (real) science.<\/p>\n<p>Each time we learn something new about how this universe works, it&#8217;s a new opportunity to appreciate God&#8217;s work. (Catechism, 283, 341)<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t see that as a problem.<\/p>\n<p>Using the brains God gave us seems much more reasonable than fearing that we&#8217;ll awaken cosmic horrors, or &#8216;offend the spirits&#8217; by showing an interest in God&#8217;s work. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/mars-aliens-and-seti\/#lovecraft\">December 16, 2016<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/sandra-and-tommy-apes-and-ethics\/#truth\">July 15, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Because I&#8217;m a Christian, I see time as a characteristic of this universe, not an eternal constant; and basically linear.<\/p>\n<p>I figure God <strong>could<\/strong> have created a static universe that started in a perfect state, and stays that way. But that&#8217;s not how our current home works. This universe is in a &#8220;state of journeying&#8221; toward perfection that we haven&#8217;t reached yet. (Catechism, 302)<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"universe\"><\/a>This Universe as a Desktop Project<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/SimCity_4\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/201706613-SimCity_4-_Rush_Hour_region_view-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>Like I said, I&#8217;m not worried that we&#8217;ll &#8216;learn too much.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m also not concerned that I&#8217;ll go someplace where God can&#8217;t see or hear me.<\/p>\n<p>This universe is a desktop project: from God&#8217;s viewpoint. That&#8217;s being very anthropomorphic.<\/p>\n<p>Beautiful poetic imagery notwithstanding, God doesn&#8217;t sit on a throne at some particular place in this cosmos.<\/p>\n<p>The Almighty, the I AM, is beyond this universe: <strong>and<\/strong> &#8220;here&#8221; in each place that can be, is, or has been; immediately present at all times, past, present and future. (Catechism, 300)<\/p>\n<p>As a Christian, I take God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, very seriously.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn&#8217;t keep me from realizing that everyone has wondered where we came from, what we&#8217;re doing, and where we&#8217;re going. Folks have come up with quite a few ideas. It&#8217;s part of being human. (Catechism, 285)<\/p>\n<p>The natural human desire to know may be a reason Ussher worked out his timetable. What I&#8217;m not sure about is why so many folks still insist that the universe started at a particular day near the autumnal equinox in 4004 BC. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/earliest-life-maybe\/#following\">March 10, 2017<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/right-handedness-and-evolving-jaws\/#evolution\">October 28, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Ussher&#8217;s chronology was pretty good scholarship, three and a half centuries back. But we&#8217;ve learned a great deal since then.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"it\"><\/a>It Happened Earlier<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/earliest-life-maybe\/#following\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/PIA17569-GodThinksBig-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>&#8216;It happened earlier&#8217; seems like a recurring theme in our study of Earth&#8217;s past, and ours.<\/p>\n<p>Ussher&#8217;s estimate of a few thousand years was topped in 1779, when the Comte du Buffon measured how fast a sphere cooled.<\/p>\n<p>His estimate for Earth&#8217;s age was about 75,000 years.<\/p>\n<p>About a century later, using different criteria, the 1st Baron Kelvin decided Earth could be anywhere from 20,000,000 to 400,000,000 years old.<\/p>\n<p>The current estimate is <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Age_of_the_Earth\">4,540,000,000 years<\/a>, give or take 50,000,000. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/earliest-life-maybe\/#following\">March 10, 2017<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>That hasn&#8217;t changed significantly in the last several years.<\/p>\n<p>Most scientists were pretty sure that <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anatomically_modern_human\">anatomically modern humans<\/a>, folks who look pretty much like the current model, got started about 200,000 years back.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re learning that the number may be off by about 100,000 years. Folks who look like us may be a whole lot older.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s going to be lively debate about this, for good reason.<\/p>\n<p>My guess is that we&#8217;ll need more evidence before the question gets resolved. But if we do have deeper roots, I won&#8217;t be surprised. We&#8217;ve been learning that quite a few things happened earlier than we thought.<\/p>\n<p>Each time we do, it&#8217;s an opportunity for greater admiration of God&#8217;s work. Like I keep saying, God thinks big.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h4><a name=\"origins\"><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">1. <\/span>Origins: A New Chapter in Humanity&#8217;s Story<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-40194150\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/20170612-_96388524_figure-11-philipp-gunz-mpi-eva-leipzig-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\"><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Philipp Gunz\/MPI EVA Leipzig, via BBC News, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(&#8220;A reconstruction of the earliest known Homo sapiens skull based on scans of multiple original fossils&#8221;<br \/>\n(BBC News))<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-40194150\">&#8216;First of our kind&#8217; found in Morocco<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nPallab Ghosh, BBC News (June 7, 2017)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>The idea that modern people evolved in a single &#8216;cradle of humanity&#8217; in East Africa some 200,000 years ago is no longer tenable, new research suggests.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Fossils of five early humans have been found in North Africa that show Homo sapiens emerged at least 100,000 years earlier than previously recognised.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It suggests that our species evolved all across the continent, the scientists involved say&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Jebel Irhoud is our name for a place in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Morocco\">Morocco<\/a>, about 100 kilometers, 60 miles, West of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marrakesh\">Marrakesh<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Folks were mining <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baryte\">baryte<\/a> there in 1960. Baryte is an additive in drilling fluid, paint, and plastic; and has other uses.<\/p>\n<p>Mining uncovered a silt-filled cave in 1960. Scientists found mammal fossils there in 1960s, including <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hominidae\">Hominids<\/a>. That&#8217;s another name for great apes: critters like gibbons, gorillas, chimps \u2014 and us.<\/p>\n<p>I could bristle with indignation that humans have anything to do with the stuff of this world. But that doesn&#8217;t make sense. Not to me. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/earliest-life-maybe\/#being\">March 10, 2017<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/brain-implants-and-rewired-monkeys\/#genesis\">November 18, 2016<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/the-minden-monster-what-killed-lucy\/#adam\">September 23, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Studying the other remains let the scientists make a rough estimate of when the cave filled with silt. Besides the Hominds, they found early versions of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Equidae\">horses<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Equidae\">cattle<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gazelle\">gazelles<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rhinoceros\">rhinos<\/a> and predators.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"tools\"><\/a>Tools, Neanderthals, and Anthropometry<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-40194150\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/20170612-_96388692_1-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>They found stone tools, too, like that set in the photo. Whoever made them used the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Levallois_technique\">Levallois technique<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Tools like that had been found mostly with Neanderthals at the time scientists started studying the Jebel Irhoud site.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re still quite sure that Neanderthals made tools like these. But so did a lot of other folks. We&#8217;re not sure who developed them first.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists are still discussing how the technique was standardized across much of Africa, Asia, and Europe.<\/p>\n<p>I figure that whoever invented the tech either passed the skill along to others, who swapped how-to tips with their neighbors.<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe the originals were export items, reverse-engineered elsewhere. Probably both. Folks travel, trade, share information, and study what others have done today.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t see why folks who lived before us would act differently.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, Levallois tools were considered &#8216;Neanderthal&#8217; tech back in the 1960s, so assuming that the remains were Neanderthal was reasonable.<\/p>\n<p>They do look a bit like some Neanderthal remains.<\/p>\n<p>But we&#8217;ve learned more about Neanderthals, humanity&#8217;s current model, and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anthropometry\">anthropometry<\/a>, since then.<\/p>\n<p>Folks living at Jebel Irhoud don&#8217;t look exactly like anyone living today. But they&#8217;ve got more in common with Homo sapiens than with the folks we call Neanderthals.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#1\">1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h4><a name=\"tweety\"><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">2. <\/span>Tweety Rex? Maybe Not<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-40172587\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/201706113-_96369780_ab863f99-9ff0-4824-9798-809903230f98-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\"><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Getty Images, via BBC News, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(&#8220;T. rex was one of the largest terrestrial carnivores of all time&#8221;<br \/>\n(BBC News)<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-40172587\">Study casts doubt on the idea of &#8216;big fluffy T. rex&#8217;<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nHelen Briggs, BBC News (June 7, 2017)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>Despite its ancestors having feathers, Tyrannosaurus rex most likely had scaly skin, according to fossil evidence.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Researchers say the huge predator had scales much like modern reptiles rather than feathers or fluff.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The dinosaur may have ditched its feathers because it no longer needed insulation when it reached gigantic proportions, they propose&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Scientists studying critters like dinosaurs are like the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blind_men_and_an_elephant\">blind men and an elephant<\/a>. Different folks find different bits of the same reality, and \u2014 you know the story.<\/p>\n<p>Based on evidence and inductive reasoning, they conclude that the elephant is like a wall, a fan, a tree, a snake, and a spear.<\/p>\n<p>Each is right, sort of: and wrong. Also sort of. I figure the story shows that a small part of a greater reality is just that: a small part. It may be typical of the whole, or not.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, I haven&#8217;t run across a retelling of that tale where the moral is that since the blind men don&#8217;t agree \u2014 the elephant doesn&#8217;t exist.<\/p>\n<p>That would, I think, make about as much sense as some arguments against evolution. And that&#8217;s another topic. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/ammonites-dinosaurs-and-us\/#errors\">May 19, 2017<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/first-americans\/#dragon\">May 5, 2017<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/dna-and-cancer\/#reality\">March 31, 2017<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"facts\"><\/a>Facts and Chicken Feet<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vorwerk_chicken\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/20170613-Vorwerkhuhn_at_the_BUGA_2009-collage-329.JPG?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\"><\/a>Dinosaurs with feathers isn&#8217;t a new idea, although it wasn&#8217;t generally accepted until recently. My notion of &#8220;recently,&#8221; that is.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thomas_Henry_Huxley\">Huxley<\/a> noticed that <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Compsognathus\">Compsognathus<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Archaeopteryx\">Archaeopteryx<\/a> skeletons were alike in some ways.  Folks found Archaeopteryx fossils with feather impressions in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Archaeopteryx#History_of_discovery\">1861<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Huxley said maybe Archaeopteryx, a bird, sort of, had evolved from a dinosaur.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, folks with religious objections to stuff we&#8217;ve been learning in the last few millennia were having conniptions over evolution. They probably still are.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve heard outrage expressed over the idea that birds could be like dinosaurs.<\/p>\n<p>But I&#8217;ve seen reconstructions of extinct <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Theropoda\">theropod<\/a> feet, and I&#8217;ve seen chicken feet. Aside from size, there&#8217;s not all that much difference.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists apparently thought Huxley&#8217;s idea was interesting. But they didn&#8217;t &#8220;believe in&#8221; feathered dinosaurs. Not until they found more evidence.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not a scientist, but as I&#8217;ve said: I don&#8217;t see a problem with using our brains. Even if I wasn&#8217;t interested in science, I&#8217;d have to take evidence, facts, seriously.<\/p>\n<p>Faith, for me, means willingly and consciously embracing &#8220;the whole truth that God has revealed.&#8221; (Catechism, 142\u2013150)<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>whole<\/strong> truth, not just the bits I like. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/acting-like-truth-matters\/#faith\">May 21, 2017<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/truth-and-love\/#whole\">May 7, 2017<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/earliest-life-maybe\/#order\">March 10, 2017<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>It helps, I think, that I enjoy learning new facts, and that&#8217;s yet another topic.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"tweet\"><\/a>Tweet! Tweet! \u2014 <strong>SHRIEK!<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Deinonychus#Description\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/20170613-800px-Deinonychus_ewilloughby-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"By Emily Willoughby (2014)\" align=\"right\"><\/a>In 1931, scientists found <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Deinonychus\">Deinonychus<\/a> fossils in Montana.<\/p>\n<p>Barnum Brown, the team leader, dubbed the critter &#8220;Daptosaurus agilis,&#8221; and prepped the specimens for later extraction.<\/p>\n<p>That didn&#8217;t happen. Scientists have priorities, like everyone else. The might-be-interesting lumps would have been a chore to work loose from the surrounding rock.<\/p>\n<p>About three decades later, John Ostrom went fossil hunting in another part of Montana, finding more Deinonychus remains. He realized that Brown&#8217;s specimens were probably from the same sort of critter.<\/p>\n<p>Cutting an excessively long story short, we&#8217;ve learned that Deinonychus was an 11-foot, 200-pound, feathered hunter. Think a nightmare version of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roadrunner\">roadrunners<\/a>; with sharp teeth and sharper, oversize, claws.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"dinosaur\"><\/a>Dinosaur Feathers?<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tyrannosaurus#Description\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170501ff\/20170615-Rjpalmer_tyrannosaurusrex_001-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\"><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From RJPalmerArt, via Wikimedia Commons, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(T. rex with feathers, and lips. Whether the critter had <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tyrannosaurus#Skin_and_feathers\">either<\/a> is still debated.)<\/p>\n<p>About T. rex, size, and feathers; we still don&#8217;t have a fossil that shows the whole critter and a clear impression of its hide. Many or most birds have scales <strong>and<\/strong> feathers. Maybe T. rex did, too.<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe not. Critters have options for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thermoregulation\">thermoregulation<\/a>, regulating body temperature. Not that they decide to have feathers, fur, or whatever.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not just animals. Some plants make their own heat. The Indian lotus, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nelumbo_nucifera\">Nelumbo nucifera<\/a>, for example, stays 20 \u00b0Centigrade, 36 \u00b0Fahrenheit, when it&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nelumbo_nucifera#Botany\">flowering<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The plant gets heat by &#8216;burning&#8217; starch stored in its roots, consuming oxygen at a rate on a par with a hummingbird in flight.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/#2\">2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Some animals, like elephants, don&#8217;t need much in the way of hair or feathers. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gigantothermy\">Gigantothermy<\/a>, being really big, isn&#8217;t insulation, quite; but <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Surface-area-to-volume_ratio\">volume<\/a> increases faster than surface area.<\/p>\n<p>Other critters change how much heat they gain or lose by changing behavior. Textbooks will give examples like a dogs panting, or bears hibernating.<\/p>\n<p>I see what humans do as a sort of behavioral temperature regulation. From that viewpoint, our habit of developing tech like cloth and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HVAC\">HVAC<\/a> is behavior: operating over long timescales. And that&#8217;s, you guessed it, yet again another topic. Topics.<\/p>\n<p>More opportunities for greater appreciation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/ammonites-dinosaurs-and-us\/\">Ammonites, Dinosaurs, and Us<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(May 19, 2017)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/first-americans\/\">First Americans?<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(May 5, 2017)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/footprints-in-ancient-ash\/\">Footprints in Ancient Ash<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(February 3, 2017)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/urban-evolution-and-big-brains\/\">Urban Evolution and Big Brains<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(January 13, 2017)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/brogdar-oetzi-and-piltdown-man\/\">Brogdar, \u00d6etzi, and Piltdown Man<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(August 26, 2016)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<p><sup><a name=\"1\"><\/a>1<\/sup> What we&#8217;re learning about our story:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Human_evolution\">Human evolution<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Template:Human_timeline\">Human timeline<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jebel_Irhoud\">Jebel Irhoud<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_human_evolution_fossils\">List of human evolution fossils<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v546\/n7657\/full\/nature22336.html\">New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\">Jean-Jacques Hublin, Abdelouahed Ben-Ncer, Shara E. Bailey, Sarah E. Freidline, Simon Neubauer, Matthew M. Skinner, Inga Bergmann, Adeline Le Cabec, Stefano Benazzi, Katerina Harvati, Philipp Gunz<\/span>; Nature (June 8, 2017)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup><a name=\"2\"><\/a>2<\/sup> Dinosaurs, birds, and biology; more than you may need or want to know:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bird\">Bird<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bird_anatomy\">Bird_anatomy<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bird_anatomy#Respiratory_system\">Respiratory system<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bird_anatomy#Circulatory_system\">Circulatory system<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dinosaur\">Dinosaur<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Evolution_of_birds\">Evolution_of_birds<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Feather\">Feather<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Feathered_dinosaur\">Feathered dinosaur<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Feathered_dinosaur#History_of_research\">History of research<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gigantothermy\">Gigantothermy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hummingbird\">Hummingbird<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nelumbo_nucifera#Botany\">Nelumbo nucifera<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nelumbo_nucifera#Botany\">Botany<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thermoregulation\">Thermoregulation<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thermoregulation#In_plants\">In plants<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thermoregulation#Behavioral_temperature_regulation\">Behavioral temperature regulation<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org\/content\/13\/6\/20170092\">Tyrannosauroid integument reveals conflicting patterns of gigantism and feather evolution<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\">Phil R. Bell, Nicol\u00e1s E. Campione, W. Scott Persons, Philip J. Currie, Peter L. Larson, Darren H. Tanke, Robert T. Bakker<\/span>; Biology Letters, Royal Society (June 7, 2017)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Humanity&#8217;s current model may be a whole lot older than we thought. A team of scientists say that remains found in Morocco are human, Homo sapiens. The scientists also say these folks lived about 300,000 years ago. They were around &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/oldest-human-fossils\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[67,56,64,80,191,22,28,24],"class_list":["post-1257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science-news","tag-biology","tag-evolution","tag-faith","tag-god","tag-paleontology","tag-science","tag-technology","tag-truth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Dwtw-kh","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1257"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6517,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1257\/revisions\/6517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}