Tag: migration

A special issue from Nature: Peopling the planet.

5:40 pm

A special issue from Nature: Peopling the planet.

I haven’t yet had time to read this special issue, but it will certainly be fascinating, as it apparently summarizes the most current knowledge scientists have about the manner and timing of the human migration of the entire surface of the Earth. Overall, it appears that this migration took place sooner and faster than previously believed. Definitely worth a read.

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New evidence suggests that Stone Age hunters from Europe reached the New World ten thousand years before their Asian counterparts.

5:38 pm

New evidence suggests that Stone Age hunters from Europe reached the New World ten thousand years before their Asian counterparts.

A remarkable series of several dozen European-style stone tools, dating back between 19,000 and 26,000 years, have been discovered at six locations along the US east coast. Three of the sites are on the Delmarva Peninsular in Maryland, discovered by archaeologist Dr Darrin Lowery of the University of Delaware. One is in Pennsylvania and another in Virginia. A sixth was discovered by scallop-dredging fishermen on the seabed 60 miles from the Virginian coast on what, in prehistoric times, would have been dry land. …

What’s more, chemical analysis carried out last year on a European-style stone knife found in Virginia back in 1971 revealed that it was made of French-originating flint.

None of this is really surprising. Once we humans became the creatures we are, it became second nature for us to spread out quickly across the globe. In the case of these first European settlers, however, they came in too small numbers, and were thus eventually overwhelmed by the later settlers coming from Asia.

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FAA grants exemption, allowing ultra-light plane to resume whooping crane escort flight

4:52 pm

Gee, isn’t that nice of them: The FAA has granted a one time waiver, allowing an ultra-light plane to resume this year’s whooping crane escort flight.

This infuriates me. What business is it of the FAA whether the ultra-light plane pilots make money on this or not?

This is a perfect example of “mission creep.” The FAA was originally chartered to manage airports, install required landing and navigational equipment, and monitor the designs of aircraft for safety hazards. Somehow, this mission now includes regulating who and what aviation groups are allowed to make money. Disgusting.

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