The uncertainty about the number of species at Hadar, combined with the confused relationships among the successor species (Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus robustus, Australopithecus boisei, and Homo habilis), create problems for evolutionists attempting to construct a phylogenetic tree for these hominids. Shipman (1986, p. 92) stated: “the best answer we can give right now is that we no longer have a very clear idea of who gave rise to whom.” Walker warned that the discovery of KNM 17000 suggested “that early hominid phylogeny has not yet been finally established and that it will prove to be more complex than has been stated” (Walker et al. 1986, p. 522).
In the midst of the new complexity, one question is especially important— the origin of the Homo line. Shipman told of seeing Bill Kimbel, an associate of Johanson, attempt to deal with the phylogenetic implications of the Black Skull. “At the end of a lecture on Australopithecine evolution, he erased all the tidy, alternative diagrams and stared at the blackboard for a moment. Then he turned to the class and threw up his hands,” wrote Shipman (1986, p. 93). Kimbel eventually decided the Homo line came from Australopithecus africanus ( Willis 1989). Johanson and White continued to maintain that Homo came directly from Australopithecus afarensis.
After she considered various phylogenetic alternatives and found the evidence for all of them inconclusive, Shipman (1986, p. 93) stated: “we could assert that we have no evidence whatsoever of where Homo arises from and remove all members of the genus Australopithecus from the hominid family. . . . I’ve such a visceral negative reaction to this idea that I suspect I am unable to evaluate it rationally. I was brought up on the notion that Australopithecus is a hominid.” This is one of the more honest statements we have heard from a mainstream scientist involved in paleoanthropological research.
In the foregoing discussion, we have considered only the evidence that is generally accepted by most scientists. Needless, to say, if we were to also consider the evidence for anatomically modern humans in very ancient times that would complicate the matter even further.
Having reviewed the history of African discoveries related to human evolution, we can make the following summary observations. (1) There is a significant amount of evidence from Africa suggesting that beings resembling anatomically modern humans were present in the Early Pleistocene and Pliocene. (2) The conventional image of Australopithecus as a very humanlike terrestrial biped appears to be false. (3) The status of Australopithecus and Homo erectus as human ancestors is questionable. (4) The status of Homo habilis as a distinct species is questionable. (5) Even confining ourselves to conventionally accepted evidence, the multiplicity of proposed evolutionary linkages among the hominids in Africa presents a very confusing picture. Combining these findings with those from the preceding chapters, we conclude that the total evidence, including fossil bones and artifacts, is most consistent with the view that anatomically modern humans have coexisted with other primates for tens of millions of years.
Permission credits:
Figure 2.4, “Patterns of grooves and ridges produced by a serrated shark tooth
moving along the surface of a whale bone,” is from Journal of Paleontology
(1982, 56:6). Used with permission.
Figure 5.11, “A Folsom blade embedded in the lower surface of a travertine crust
from Sandia Cave, New Mexico,” is reprinted by permission of the Smithsonian
Institution Press from Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections; Vol. 99,
no. 23. c Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. October 15, 1941. plate 7.
Figures 3.5, 3.29. and 4.12, the drawings of stone tools from Olduvai Gorge,
Tanzania, are from Olduvai Gorge by Mary Leakey (1971) and are reprinted by
permission of the Cambridge University Press.
Figure 5.15 (left), “Stone bowl from Nakura, Kenya,” is from The Stone Age
Cultures of Kenya Colony, by Louis Leakey (1931) and is used by permission
of the Cambridge University Press.
Figures 5.5–7, and 5.9, the drawings of stone tools from Sheguiandah, Canada, are
from The Canadian Field-Naturalist (1957, vol. 71). Used with permission.
Readers interested in the subject matter of this book are invited to correspond with
Michael A. Cremo at mail@mcremo.com.
First edition: 1993
First edition, revised: 1996, 1998
Twelfth printing: 2005
Thirteenth printing: 2008
Fourteenth printing: 2010
Copyright © 1993, 1996, 1998 by Bhaktivedanta Book Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reprinted in any form, or by any
means reproduced, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Distributed by Torchlight Publishing, Badger CA
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cremo, Michael A.
Forbidden Archeology: the hidden history of the human race / by Michael
Cremo and Richard Thompson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Preassigned LLCCN: 92-76168.
ISBN 978-0-89213-294-2
1. Man, Prehistoric. 2. Human evolution. I. Thompson,
Richard L., 1947-2008 II. Title.
GN720.C74 1993 573.3
QBI93-573
Table of Contents
Foreword
Introduction and Acknowledgments
1 THE SONG OF THE RED LION
1.1 Darwin Hesitates
1.2 The Neanderthals
1.3 Haeckel and Darwinism
1.4 The search Begins
1.5 Darwin speaks
1.6 The Incompleteness of the Fossil Record
1.7 The Geological Timetable
1.8 The Appearance of the Hominids
1.9 Some Principles of Epistemology
1.10 Theories and Anomalous Evidence
1.11 The Phenomenon of Suppression
2 INCISED AND BROKEN BONES: THE DAWN OF DECEPTION
2.1 St. Prest, France (early Pleistocene or Late Pliocene)
2.2 A Modern example: Old Crow River, Canada (Late Pleistocene)
2.3 The Anza-Borrego Desert, California (Middle Pleistocene)
2.4 Val D’arno, Italy (early Pleistocene or late Pliocene)
2.5 San Giovanni, Italy (late Pliocene)
2.6 Rhinoceros of Billy, France (Middle Miocene)
2.7 Colline de Sansan, France ( Middle Miocene)
2.8 Pikermi, Greece (late Miocene)
2.9 Pierced Shark Teeth from the Red Crag, England (Late Pliocene)
2.10 Carved Bone from the Dardanelles, Turkey (Miocene)
2.11 Balaenotus of Monte Aperto, Italy (Pliocene)
2.12 Halitherium of Pouance, France (Middle Miocene)
2.13 San Valentino, Italy (Late Pliocene)
2.14 Clermont-Ferrand, France (Middle Miocene)
2.15 Carved Shell from the Red Crag, England (Late Pliocene)
2.16 Bone implements From Below the Red Crag, England (Pliocene to Eocene)
2.17 Dewlish Elephant Trench, England (Early Pleistocene to Late Pliocene)
2.18 More on implements From Below the Red Crag (Pliocene to Eocene)
2.19 Implements from Cromer Forest Bed, England (Middle to Early Pleistocene)
2.20 Sawn Wood from Cromer Forest Bed, England (Middle to Early Pleistocene)