SCI/TECH: Head Lice Possibly Demonstrate pre-Humans in Ancient America

A recent study shows evidence for the existence of a pre-human primate in North America and contact between it and modern homo sapiens. Scientists discovered a unique breed of head lice found only in America; the genetic difference between the unique louse and the louse found worldwide suggests the two evolved separately more than a million years ago.



Astoundingly, they note that others have suggested that c.f. homo erectus survied up to 50,000 years ago in asia (as opposed to going extinct 400,000ya). The evidence for this is apparently fossils that in some way resemble erectus. I recall erectus as being hypothesised to be the first member of the genus to capture and make us of fire, the idea being that they'd need it in order to spread across the globe.

I have never heard of any evidence of and human or human like creature in the americas, this is certainly intriguing. If true, there is an enourmous history that is comletely undiscovered and unknown.

The basic idea that they are using is relatively sound. Very often in biology and zoology scientists use at least something like it if not exactly it (i am phrasing this cautiously because I don't know their exact methods as this is a news article, not a scientific paper). I beleive its called 'cospeciation'. Basically, parasites and symbionts seem to speciate along with their hosts. This is probably because if a population of hosts splits into two different non intermixing populations, then the parasites are effectively seperated and will also be unable to interbreed and will eventually have diverged enough so as to become distinct species.

Related News Links:
www.biology.utah.edu
www.cas.muohio.edu
www.talkorigins.org
www.cr.nps.gov

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
www.abovetopsecret.com...


[edit on 5-10-2004 by Banshee]

I saw this on something like Discovery.com or maybe some other site based on the same line. It only makes since to me that this happened. There must have been a crossover point. This seems to be the first evidence of that.

[I]Homo sapiens and Homo erectus are extraordinarily different, if nothing else than in their respective brain capacities, that I am pretty surprised that they'd interbreed at all. I have something of a hard time visualizing this exceedingly primitive human, unable to conceive of possibly half the things that man conceives of, interacting with paleoindians, who are thoroughly 'anatomically modern' humans (as opposed to archaic types of sapiens)

I mean, there isn't even a hint of ritual behaviour and abstract thinking until neanderthals and primitive homo sapiens, so one can imagine erectus as excessively apish in thought and society.