About Me

I'm a PhD student researching the role of the archaeological dead in contemporary British society. Think of this as a scrapbook of all the interesting links, snippets of information and random bits and bobs I come across pertaining to death, dying and the dead. Enjoy?!

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    oldowan: anthrolover79: oldowan: we-are-star-stuff: ‘Adventurous’ Woman Needed as Surrogate for Neanderthal Baby Are you an adventurous human woman? Adventurous enough to be a surrogate mother for the first Neanderthal baby to be born in 30,000 years? Harvard geneticist George Church recently told Der Spiegel he’s close to developing the necessary technology to clone a Neanderthal, at which point all he’d need is an “adventurous human woman” — einen abenteuerlustigen weiblichen Menschen — to act as a surrogate mother. It’s not out of the question at all. As MIT Technology Review’s Susan Young points out, scientists cloned an extinct subspecies of ibex in 2009. It died immediately, sure. But they still cloned it. What would that entail? According to a 2008 study of a Neanderthal infant skeleton (from which the above image is taken), “the head of the Neanderthal newborn was somewhat longer than that of a human newborn because of its relatively robust face,” and Neanderthal women generally had a wider birth canal than human women. Neanderthal birth was simpler than human birth, because Neanderthal infants didn’t have to rotate to get to the birth canal, but otherwise the processes were very similar. (Even so, I imagine all but the most adventurous of human women would opt for a C-section in this case.) Once the baby’s out, though, you’re in good shape — Neanderthal babies are thought to have grown much more quickly than their human counterparts. And Church seems to think that there’ll be a Neanderthal craze, as he told Bloomberg Businessweek last year: “We have lots of Neanderthal parts around the lab. We are creating Neanderthal cells. Let’s say someone has a healthy, normal Neanderthal baby. Well, then, everyone will want to have a Neanderthal kid. Were they superstrong or supersmart? Who knows? But there’s one way to find out.” [Der Spiegel via MIT Technology Review] This already has a shed load of notes, but I cannot ignore it. Ok I just spent an hour trying to access the original source for it and failed. We don’t know if Church really said this, and if that were to be the case in what context. Is concerning these are the type of post that gather more attention, over others with more important information. Fellow anthropologists, please let’s blog critically! Reblogging for his/her astute commentary and time spent searching for the primary source. Dedication such as this I do not have. But I’ll always reblog anything as ridiculous as this. I learnt the hard way and sadly accept that there’s little chance of bringing science to tumblr anthro. There’s no audience for it. It will take a better blogger than I. ( ;

    oldowan:

    anthrolover79:

    oldowan:

    we-are-star-stuff:

    ‘Adventurous’ Woman Needed as Surrogate for Neanderthal Baby

    Are you an adventurous human woman? Adventurous enough to be a surrogate mother for the first Neanderthal baby to be born in 30,000 years?

    Harvard geneticist George Church recently told Der Spiegel he’s close to developing the necessary technology to clone a Neanderthal, at which point all he’d need is an “adventurous human woman” — einen abenteuerlustigen weiblichen Menschen — to act as a surrogate mother.

    It’s not out of the question at all. As MIT Technology Review’s Susan Young points out, scientists cloned an extinct subspecies of ibex in 2009. It died immediately, sure. But they still cloned it.

    What would that entail? According to a 2008 study of a Neanderthal infant skeleton (from which the above image is taken), “the head of the Neanderthal newborn was somewhat longer than that of a human newborn because of its relatively robust face,” and Neanderthal women generally had a wider birth canal than human women. Neanderthal birth was simpler than human birth, because Neanderthal infants didn’t have to rotate to get to the birth canal, but otherwise the processes were very similar. (Even so, I imagine all but the most adventurous of human women would opt for a C-section in this case.)

    Once the baby’s out, though, you’re in good shape — Neanderthal babies are thought to have grown much more quickly than their human counterparts. And Church seems to think that there’ll be a Neanderthal craze, as he told Bloomberg Businessweek last year:

    “We have lots of Neanderthal parts around the lab. We are creating Neanderthal cells. Let’s say someone has a healthy, normal Neanderthal baby. Well, then, everyone will want to have a Neanderthal kid. Were they superstrong or supersmart? Who knows? But there’s one way to find out.”

    [Der Spiegel via MIT Technology Review]

    This already has a shed load of notes, but I cannot ignore it.

    Ok I just spent an hour trying to access the original source for it and failed. We don’t know if Church really said this, and if that were to be the case in what context. Is concerning these are the type of post that gather more attention, over others with more important information. Fellow anthropologists, please let’s blog critically!

    Reblogging for his/her astute commentary and time spent searching for the primary source. Dedication such as this I do not have. But I’ll always reblog anything as ridiculous as this. I learnt the hard way and sadly accept that there’s little chance of bringing science to tumblr anthro. There’s no audience for it. It will take a better blogger than I. ( ;

    (via theolduvaigorge)

    Did Neandertals Truly Bury Their Dead?

    During excavations in the French Dordogne beginning more than 100 years ago, French archaeologists discovered the skeletons of seven Neandertals, including four children and infants, and the most complete adult Neandertal skull ever found. They concluded that all were deliberately buried, making this site pivotal to contentions that Neandertals had symbolic capacities. Until now, that is. New excavations at La Ferrassie are in part designed to reexamine this question, which many researchers had long thought was itself dead and buried.

    carolinafrica:

    Neanderthal (Discovery Channel)

    This revealing two-part drama documentary combined the latest scientific research with a stunning mixture of drama and cutting edge 3D animation to reconstruct the lives of these remarkable early humans. In the second part, the advanced Cro-Magnons arrive and a new Ice Age is dawning.

    Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals coexisted on Earth until competition drove one of them to extinction. This program, set in the southwest of France 35,000 years ago, uses re-creations of cinematic proportions to reconstruct life in the Neanderthal world at the time Cro-Magnons first entered the scene.

    All aspects of Neanderthal clan life are examined, including tool- and weapon-making, hunting and gathering, health and healing, childbirth, rituals, and making fire. Footage of skeletal remains and the scholarly research of eminent palaeontologist Chris Stringer and Oxford University’s Paul Pettitt support the documentary.

    (Source: youtube.com, via theolduvaigorge)

    Neanderthal burial practices?

    For decades the debate on the familial similarity of humans and Neanderthals has continued back and forth despite DNA evidence showing potential sub-species status. Their classification as human or otherwise determines whether they fall into the category of mortuary archaeology, the study of human funerary sites in the past. So far, it has been questionable whether or not Neanderthals showed the symbolic capacity necessary for the funerary behaviour displayed by humans. However, regardless of whether they are a sub-species or distinct species, new evidence is emerging which supports the idea that Neanderthals may have engaged in patterned mortuary behaviour