September 6th, Scout HQ – Dr Stephen Doyle returned to give us another splendid talk, this time about Homo sapiens, and covered such notions as:
- How old is Homo sapiens?
- Are we all Africans?
- If so, why are we not all black?
- Who is Mitochondrial Eve?
- How many mothers do Europeans have?
- Did humans mate with Neanderthals?
- Who are the Desinovans?
- What did the Mount Tuba Super Volcano do? Will Yellowstone do the same?
- Was the Con Tiki expedition right?
- Lake Agassiz and the Biblical Flood
- Why can’t Chinese drink milk?
Stephen has been to Aughton twice previously, and this third talk lived up to the other two: great slides, relaxed manner, knowledgeable around the subject, and he even seemed to be enjoying himself!
He also suggests some links for further study and information:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/26/MN971KQCVQ.DTL – Denisovans and Neanderthals. The Swedish anthropologist Svänte Paabo and his colleagues first deciphered the Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes and showed where and when they interbred with modern humans.
He also recommends a well written book he is currently reading called “Before the Dawn – recovering the lost history of our ancestors” by Nicholas Wade, which expands on much of what Stephen included in his talk.
Aughton & Ormskirk U3A Science Group (Archived) 