quote:
Originally posted by techristian:
To read my entire paper on "Lucy", I have now posted it at my http://etnot.com website, or you can go to it directly at
http://musicinit.com/etnot/lucy.html
OK, this is going to be a little hard but I will try to be civil concerning your site. Your site is either crossing the line or dancing just on it to accusing Johnsons group of fixing the data which, amoung scientists, is about the worse possibe thing that you can do or be accused of. It is also obvious that you know little to nothing about comparative anatomy. I suggest that you read some books on the subject, and on the subject of how paleontology is performed. I would recommend some of Johnsons or Time Whites books on the actual finds. Another good one is called "Message of the Bones" about a H. habelis or H. erectus skeleton, I will try to find the actual reference later today. Anyway, your suggestions about the skeleton being "dwarf humans" is wrong on the face of it. Please input a search with the terms A. aferensis AND human AND morphology AND skeletal. There are a number of good sites out there that list the morphological differences. You can do the same for chimp. Some will also tell you WHY people who understand biomechanics can work in fractured or destroyed bones and put them together into the proper configuration.
As to your DNA comment, the odds of every bone in a skeleton of that age still containing sufficient DNA (if any at all) for a PCR analysis is small to non-existent. You need very special conditions for that.
You really need to learn the basis for the how these sciences work before you make comments like those on your site. Would you accuse a minister of stealing money from the collection plate or of molesting a parishner without evidence; well you have just accused Johnson of something as bad if not worse on your site
. You really need to revise either your erroneous and false interpretation or your language or (my preference) both.
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"Chance favors the prepared mind." L. Pasteur
Taz