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Category Archives: Anthropology
Lessons from Orkney.
Like many other people, I read a huge amount of stuff on environmental matters every day, such as on the climate disaster-in-the-making, overconsumption, pollution of the environment by plastic and other man-made materials, extinction of animals and insects, and, at … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Archeology, Food, Global warming, Populaion growth, science
Tagged fertility, Maes Howe, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Orkney, Vikings
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Is the Savannah hypothesis of human evolution really, really dead?
Yes, I am back on anthropology rather than medicine. Remember this theory? Man evolved in Africa from a chimp like ancestor which lived in trees, about 6 million years ago (mya). For some reason (climate change perhaps?) he came down … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, aquatic Ape Hypothesis, Elaine Morgan, language, Paleontology
Tagged Ardi, bipedal, evolution of man, hominids, Miocene, Savannah hypothesis
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David Attenborough or Alice Roberts – who do you think is right?
It has been quite a week for those of us interested in the evolution of human beings. On Thursday, David Attenborough gave a talk on BBC radio 4 entitled “The Waterside Ape” and brought us an update on this intriguing … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, aquatic Ape Hypothesis, Elaine Morgan, Medicine, science
Tagged BBC, bones, evolution Sir David Attenborough, hominids, Prof Alice Roberts
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Children taught adults the beginning of language, not the other way around
I am never sure why scientists of all disciplines, anthropologists especially, say that the most distinctive thing about humans compared with all other primates is the fact that we walk upright. All right, it frees our hands to do all … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, aquatic Ape Hypothesis, Elaine Morgan, Food, healthy food, language, linguistics, Medicine, Physiology
Tagged babies, children, fat, hominids
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Apes and Women
I have long been interested in human evolution, and especially in the very early split between ancestors of chimps and humans. I like to think of bands of very early hominids in that pristine environment six million years ago (6 … Continue reading
How does our Neanderthal ancestry affect what diseases we get?
I have always been interested in anthropology, and especially the study of hunter/gatherers, particularly the first modern humans who first made their appearance in Africa during the Pleistocene 200,000 years ago, and then migrated out of Africa about 70,000 years … Continue reading
Elen Samuel, doctor and writer 