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Skywizard
20th November 2012, 20:06
While reading this article it reminded me of another story I heard in the documentary Forbidden Archeology. I can’t remember the source but you can probably youtube it.

For me while looking at the two stories, shows how archeology has opened their minds to the possibility that intelligent humans may have been around a lot longer than they first thought.

The segment taken from the Forbidden Archeology Documentary:

According to geologist Virginia Steen-McIntyre, PhD she was silenced at the height of her career because of her determination to report the facts.
In the summer of 1966 a collection of stone tools were collected, including a spear point, at a site in Mexico. She and her team was called in from the United Stated to work on the site and to date the artifacts. She thought the artifacts were about 20,000 years old, which at the time main stream geologists would have excepted. When she got the date back they were shown to be 250,000 years old. She thought she had something big with this information and facts so she published her report. Because she stuck to the facts all her professional opportunities were closed up and she has not worked in her field since. The site was closed and further investigation was denied.

And NOW this article: Ancient Mariners: Did Neanderthals Sail to Mediterranean?

This is only the last part of the article. You can read it in full at the source below.

Although the idea that extinct human lineages possessed such advanced mental capabilities might be controversial, ancient seafaring has been seen elsewhere in the world. For instance, Australia was colonized at least 50,000 years ago, while fossils in Indonesia suggest that an extinct lineage of humans was seafaring as long ago as 1.1 million years.
"If the ancient finds in the Mediterranean can be verified, they will show that Homo erectus or Neanderthals or both had the skills and cognitive ability to build boats and navigate them," Simmons said.
Simmons detailed this research in the Nov. 16 issue of the journal Science.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/24810-neanderthals-sailed-mediterranean.html

If only Virginia would have been sent to her site now, maybe she would still be working in her chosen field.

Just thought this was interesting...
Peace
~skywizard

Shade
21st November 2012, 05:36
The reference to the 1.1 million years ago may be in relation to the Island of Flores. However, any inference to this must take into consideration that islands get colonised by accidental rafting. Like a big raft of storm debris down the Congo with frogs and lizards on them washes out to sea and allows the animals to get off at Sao Tome. You can trace the genetics back to the Congo basin for them. With the islands in question in Indonesia there was always deep water inbetween it and the mainland even in times of low sea level. However, there are tsunamis. People get washed to the islands. That explanation is just as viable as that they built boats. Therefore unless you actually FIND a boat, you can't say for sure they sailed there and a boat they have NOT found.

If they actually DID have boats (Homo erectus), then Australia would have been colonised long before it was. And Homo neanderthalensis? There is no evidence for them off the mainland (as in off Eurasia).

As for the first thing you mention I watched a docco on it that was very good. koYWznEIV50