Friday, May 27, 2011

New clue from Peking Man

OK, Peking Man is not considered unique anymore, "just" a population of Homo erectus. But it has an allure far beyond its considerable scientitic importance because of the mystery surrounding it. Nearly all the known fossils vanished at the beginning of World War II, and extensive searches and large rewards have turned up nothing.
In Uppsala University in Sweden, three teeth were preserved. Now a fourth has been found, a canine, and it is almost pristine - un-handled since it was sent to the university's museum all those decades ago. Excited anthropologists note that a great deal of information can be extracted for wear patterns and other aspects of a tooth mith modern diagnostic tools, and they hope to learn much more about this enigmatic ancestor.
Thanks to Loren Coleman for catching this item and posting it.

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