The latest scientific discovery, in the field of anthropology, was made in the country of South Africa. It is reported that several people, those who refer to themselves as cavers or spelunkers, were exploring caves. Quite by accident, they stumbled upon human bones, located in two caverns, deep underground.
They reported this ”find” to a local scientist. He in turn organized an evacuation, so that the bones were removed from the caves. Only the smallest individuals could squeeze into those tight spaces. I gather all of them were girls, while none of them were claustrophobic. The bones were then carefully photographed, documented, gathered, brought to the surface and taken to a local museum.
This is in no way to be confused with ”grave robbing”, as the bones had to be removed, in the interests of science. Otherwise, the ”word” would have gotten out that human bones were located within those caves, and as there is a huge ”black market” for such bones, then thieves would indeed have crawled into those caves, grabbed the bones, and sold them to the highest bidder.
Careful examination of those bones has revealed that they are well over three hundred thousand years old! Further, it has been established, ”beyond any reasonable doubt”, to use a legal expression, that they were carefully placed in those caves, immediately after death. The scientists have classified them as hominids, a group which includes monkeys, apes and humans. They are thought to be a remote relative of ours, so that they have been given the name Homo Naledi.
There is considerable discussion as to the possibility that the ape could have been human. The consensus appears to be that as the brain was perhaps a third the size of our brain, not much bigger than that of a chimpanzee, it could not possibly be human. In fact, the size of the human brain is around 1450 cc, in that cc stands for cubic centimetres. The size of the brains of chimpanzees, our closest living relative, is roughly 390cc, and the size of the brains of Homo Naledi is 450 to 600 cc.
I find this approach to be deeply flawed, not at all scientific. Humans are not determined by the size of their brains.
It was Engels, writing in 1876, in an article titled The Part Played by Labour In the Transition From Ape to Man, who stated quite clearly: ”Many hundreds of thousands of years ago, during an epoch …known to geologists as the tertiary period, most likely toward the end of it, a particularly highly developed race of anthropoid apes lived somewhere in the tropical zone….and they lived in bands in the trees.. owing to their way of living which meant that the hands had different functions than the feet when climbing, these apes began to lose the habit of using their hands to walk, and adapted a more and more erect posture. This was the decisive step in the transition from ape to man
”Before the first flint could be fashioned into a knife by human hands, a period of time probably elapsed in comparison with which the historical record known to us appears very insignificant. But the decisive step had been taken, the hand had become free, and could henceforth attain ever more dexterity; the greater flexibility thus acquired was inherited and increased from generation to generation. Thus the hand is not only the organ of labour, it is also the product of labour…But the hand did not exist alone, it was only one member of an integral, highly complex organism. And what benefitted the hand, benefitted also the whole body it served, and this in two ways…men in the making arrived at the point where they had something to say to each other…
”First labour, after it and then with it speech-these were the two most essential stimuli, under the influence of which the brain of the ape gradually changed into that of man…the reaction on labour and speech on the development of the brain and its attendant senses, of the increasing clarity of consciousness, power of abstraction, and conclusion…Men became accustomed to explain their actions, as arising out of thought instead of their needs…and so in the course of time, there emerged that idealistic world outlook which, especially since the fall of the world of antiquities, has dominated mens minds. It still rules them to such a degree that even the most materialistic natural scientists of the Darwinian school are still unable to form any clear idea of the origin of man, because under this ideological confusion, they do not recognize the part that has been played therein by labour.” (italics by Engels)
It should be noted that the ”tertiary period”, to which Engels was referring, is classified as the time period of 66 MYA – 2.6 MYA, in that MYA stands for Million Years Ago. As a ”highly developed race of anthropoid apes” lived ”towards the end of it”, this means that possibly three to five million years ago, these apes ”adopted a more and more erect posture”. Thus was taken the ”decisive step in the transition from ape to man”.
This ”erect posture”, technically referred to as bipedal locomotion, was followed by the ”greater flexibility”, of the hand, which was ”inherited and increased from generation to generation”. This gave rise to the opposable thumb, in that all humans can touch their fingertips with their thumb. This was followed by speech, as ”men in the making arrived at the point where they had something to say to each other”. The combination of labour and speech, the ”two most essential stimuli”, resulted in the fact that the brain of the ape ”gradually changed into that of a man”.
Engels makes no mention of the size of the brain of the earliest humans, but as they evolved from apes, it is reasonable to assume that their brains were the size of the brains of the apes from which they had evolved. As the hands became ever more efficient at fashioning ever more elaborate tools, and the speech also became more refined, the brain no doubt increased in size, over a period of countless generations.
The bones of Homo Naledi tell us that it was a bipedal ape, and had a very flexible hand. No doubt a forensic anthropologist can tell us if that flexibility extended to the point that it could touch its thumb with its fingertips. All species of human are bipedal apes and can touch their thumb with their fingertips.
That just leaves the question of speech. It is possible that the same forensic anthropologist could tell us the likelihood of the ape being able to speak. Yet, if we use the indirect method, we must face the fact that immediately after death, the relatives of the deceased dragged the remains into a cave, deep underground, and disposed of the body.
The scientists are now convinced that intelligent animals mourn their dead. At least, they experience a sense of loss, which can only be described as mourning. Apes are among the most intelligent of all animals, yet no apes dispose of their dead. Such behaviour is strictly a human characteristic. It implies a certain consciousness on the part of the human.
Engels went on to explain this: ”The reaction on labour and speech of the development of the brain and its attendant senses, of the increasing clarity of consciousness, power of abstraction and conclusion, gave both labour and speech an ever increasing impulse to further development.”
The fact that Homo Naledi disposed of their dead, can only be explained by the fact that the brain had developed ”increasing clarity of consciousness, power of abstraction and conclusion”, which is characteristic of humans.
At the same time, these early humans remained prey animals. For that reason, they spent a great deal of time in trees, as the trees offered them a measure of protection. This resulted in a combination of human and non human traits, as revealed by the skeletons. The shape of the hands and feet are strictly human, while other bones were adapted to life in trees.
This transition, from ape to human, resulted in more than changes to the bones. The shape of the brain was also affected. This becomes clear because the shape of the brain, left an imprint on the inner surface of the skull. Homo Naledi shared grooves and folds, similar to modern humans. As well, the occipital lobes were larger on one side, than the other. This is characteristic of the ability to process language.
Yet so many scientists are focused on the size of the brain, as a means of determining a species of human. Engels refers to this as the ”idealistic world outlook”, which results in ”the most materialistic natural scientists…are still unable to form any clear idea of the origin of man, because…they do not recognize the part that has been played therein by labour”.
Common sense says that if an animal swims like a duck and walks like a duck and flies like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it likely is a duck. By the same token, an ape that walks like a human and has hands like a human and a brain like a human and disposes of its dead like a human, then it probably is a human.
Now if only the scientist can get that through their thick skulls.
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 