Charles Dawson and Arthur Smith Woodward of the British Museum discovered to what is known as the Piltdown Man. The Piltdown Man was the skull like fragments and a jaw with two teeth that they found in the Piltdown gravel pit in Sussex, England. They believed that these bones can represent some sort of ancestor that lived 500,000-1 million years ago. They announced these findings on December 18, 1912 at a meeting of the U.K.'s geological society. This was a huge discovery for scientists, because not only is it known that humans have ancestors from a million years ago, but they actually have remains in front of them that can be considered as evidence and use it to learn more about our ancestors. Dawson and Woodward were amateur archaeologists when they discovered the remains. By finding the Piltdown man, it really raised the bar of status with Woodward and Dawson- being they found evidence that everyone can learn from and supplied the "missing link" from the relation between ape and man.
The human faults that came into play within this scenario is that they jumped the gun too quick when finalizing what the remains really are. As if they got too excited of the situation, they announced the findings before even studying the remains thoroughly.
What revealed the skull to be a fraud was closer examinations. Some scientists found that the jaw of the Piltdown Man originated from two different species- human and ape. A microscope showed that the teeth from the jaw was filed down to make it look like human teeth and many other pieces of the remains have seem to be manipulated. Through a microscope, it was also found that some of the remains were stained to look like they were that old.
The "human" factor of science will always be there. Even though scientists discover great findings and make themselves to what seems is as close to god himself, they will forever have the possibility of making mistakes when it comes to findings- scientists cannot run from the fact that they are human. If I could remove this factor completely from science, then I would. I feel like we could exert ourselves even more without feeling the doubt of findings, and without jumping the gun.
Life Lesson: Don't brag about anything unless you know for certain it is true.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Analogy/Homology
Homologous Traits:
Two different species that posses the homologous trait are humans and cats. Both bone structures of the arms look very similar.
Looking at the arm bone structure of a cat vs. a human, it looks like cats have a radius and ulna. Cats even have phalanges in their paws, just like humans have in their hands. They are both looking very similar, but they are both used differently. Cats have the ability to jump very high, they use their front paws to land properly on their feet. With humans, we can't land so hard on our hands- something will break. The bone structure of cats allow them to land, there will be immense pressure when doing so- humans cannot handle that kind of pressure on their arms.
The last common ancestor of humans and cats is the Juramaia Sinensis. A recent fossil of this animal showed a good part of its arm- I saw phalanges and two bones what seemed to look like a radius and ulna.
Two different species that posses the homologous trait are humans and cats. Both bone structures of the arms look very similar.
Looking at the arm bone structure of a cat vs. a human, it looks like cats have a radius and ulna. Cats even have phalanges in their paws, just like humans have in their hands. They are both looking very similar, but they are both used differently. Cats have the ability to jump very high, they use their front paws to land properly on their feet. With humans, we can't land so hard on our hands- something will break. The bone structure of cats allow them to land, there will be immense pressure when doing so- humans cannot handle that kind of pressure on their arms.
The last common ancestor of humans and cats is the Juramaia Sinensis. A recent fossil of this animal showed a good part of its arm- I saw phalanges and two bones what seemed to look like a radius and ulna.
Not only are cats and humans similar to one another, they share that same similarity with bats, horses, birds, and whales.
Analogous Traits:
Dolphins and sharks share numerous traits- however they are very far related. They are analogous because they both have fins in the same exact spots so they can swim in their environment.
The color of dolphins and sharks are very similar- they are this color so it is easy to blend in with things in the ocean. Sharks and dolphins share the same structure of where the fins are located. They both use their fins to swim. However, they are both completely different species, sharks are fish and dolphins are mammals.
Dolphins and sharks aren't really that similar but they are both analogous. They don't necessarily share a common ancestor, but they both have similarities to animals that are currently in the ocean today. We know they are analogous because other species in their environment share the same dorsal fins and structures like all the other types of fish out there.They get their dorsal fins and similar structures from convergent evolution.
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