Ethiopia: '160-year-old man' claims to remember 1895

Seems an Ethiopian reporter believes this man's story after interviewing him, but, with no actual birth records, it is difficult to determine if it's true.

Retired farmer Dhaqabo Ebba claims to have clear memories of Italy's 1895 invasion of the country. In an interview with regional Oromiya TV, he provided so much detail on the changes of power in his local area that reporter Mohammed Ademo has become convinced that Dhaqabo must be at least 160 - 46 years older than the oldest ever recorded man.

Link to full article: Ethiopia: '160-year-old man' claims to remember 1895

Does anyone here at ATS know if there is any existing way to determine the age of a living human? Would a mineral ratio in his bones at least determine if his claim of living where he did at the time is true? Makes one wonder if there is a medical test that could be used in this case, one that would no require him to die first...that is

Cut him in half and count the rings.

Wait, thats trees.

You can see from the picture on the link that the guy is not a day over a hundred and fifty. Geeze, people keep blowing things out of proportion.

This happened in Georgia a few years back and once everyone told the old man he should have died twenty years ago he fell out. Sure it's true!, But only because the crazy old man didn't know he wasn't suppose to live that long. He's toast now for sure... Poor guy, they should have let him be, maybe he'd have lived another twenty or thirty.

Well, having studied and researched the battle of Rourke's Drift over many years, I'm quite the expert.......the battle of Rourke's Drift was fought in 1879.

So I guess that if Mohammed Ademo were to interview me, he'd have me down as being around 176 years old!

Why not. I've heard these storie before. Either that or he has dementia and remembers what his father told him as if it was him. If he is I wanna know what he's been eating.

Originally posted by Dianec
Why not. I've heard these storie before. Either that or he has dementia and remembers what his father told him as if it was him. If he is I wanna know what he's been eating.

Well, that's the whole point now isn't it? To determine if his story is true. That's why I've asked the vast ATS membership if anyone knows if there is a medical test that could determine the age of a human. So far, no takers here...but, patience is a virtue.

With all the recent advances in DNA sequencing, there must be a way....

So far I've found:

University of Granada (UGR) researchers at the Laboratory of Anthropology have devised a new technique to determine the age of living subjects using chest and dental x-rays.

New Technique To Determine The Age Of Immigrant Minors Through Ribs And Teeth

Researchers at UCLA have figured out how to determine age to within five years from nothing more than a saliva sample. The method relies on a process called methylation, which is a chemical change to one of the four building blocks of a person’s DNA. Methylation changes as our bodies grow older, contributing to age related diseases

Saliva Science: New Forensics Tool Can Determine a Person's Age from a Spit Sample

The technique, developed by scientists at Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands, is based on the fact that certain DNA molecules in some blood cells decrease with age, TG Daily reports: "The molecules used are residues of the immune system known as sjTREC molecules. These special DNA molecules are released in blood cells as a result of the adaptations that have to be made by newly formed specific immune cells -- T cells -- to recognize bacteria, viruses, parasites or possibly cancer cells. Their number decreases with age." The age test is accurate to within nine years. That should be sufficient to place unknown people –- criminals or missing persons, for example -– into generational categories spanning about 20 years.

New blood test can determine age

reply to post by Argyll


Yes, exactly. He could simply be the last one to remember the verbal history of the area, and in his elder state, actually believe he witnessed it first-hand.

Originally posted by Dianec
Why not. I've heard these storie before. Either that or he has dementia and remembers what his father told him as if it was him. If he is I wanna know what he's been eating.

Actually it's probably what he HASN'T been eating.

Originally posted by OptimusSubprime

Originally posted by Dianec
Why not. I've heard these storie before. Either that or he has dementia and remembers what his father told him as if it was him. If he is I wanna know what he's been eating.

Actually it's probably what he HASN'T been eating.

Yeah, Monsanto better get over there quick and provide him with some GMO corn dogs. That'll keep him quiet.

Researchers at UCLA have figured out how to determine age to within five years from nothing more than a saliva sample. The method relies on a process called methylation, which is a chemical change to one of the four building blocks of a person’s DNA. Methylation changes as our bodies grow older, contributing to age related diseases

reply to post by Krakatoa


Perhaps this test would not be valid for this man, since Methylation processes in his DNA may be abnormal, so he does not get the age related diseases that would kill most everyone else. I would say that it warrants getting a saliva sample from him to see if that may be true.

Storys like this pop up from time to time.. Shoddy record keeping, memory, people love to embellish or exaggerate.. I believe he is old, but 160? I dont think so... I have yet to see a Verified case of anyone over 120..

reply to post by Krakatoa


I call Vampire

Originally posted by SaltireWarrior
Cut him in half and count the rings.

Wait, thats trees.

That gave me a hearty chuckle! Thanks...

But all kidding aside, there is no definitive way to measure someone's age beyond 40 to 50 years old. Some people have very robust cellular mechanisms that protect telomeres and against oxidative processes that lend to aging. Without birth records, baptismal records, or school records with fingerprinting, it is all conjecture.

We know there're people living today in the region of 100-115. That much is fact. However, it's hard to tell whether this is tabloid or not. More than likely it's, especially since this is Ethiopia? I would think modern science would have evidence for longer lived people to back this up.

My grandpa said my great (great?) grandpa died from being hit in the head by a horse at 104 or something. My grandpa lived to 100 and his sister lived to 96, I think.

But we've had deaths in the family. I don't think it's genetic, I think it's because people worked hard back then and ate farmed home cooked meals and they got better sleep than people do now. I think the single most important thing is to stay active when you're older. Don't sit like most of them or your age will catch up. My grandpa didn't believe in God and he was an alcoholic when he was older and partially diabetic. However, he always was active and moving even into his 90's. He deteriorated fast before he died.

Who knows how long some people lived in the past? There're no records to know for sure.

How long you live doesn't really matter, it's how much you live.

reply to post by Kratos40


Thanks Kratos40, I was wondering if studying his telomeres would be an option or not. Sounds like it may not be in this situation.

The whole title is the source article doesn't even make sense.

"Ethiopia: '160-year-old man' claims to remember 1895 "

If he is 160 then he probably would remember 1895. The title should be "man claims to be 160 years old and remember 1895"

So?

Ethiopia looks like 1895 right now.

Originally posted by CALGARIAN
So?

Ethiopia looks like 1895 right now.

Yeah, 1895 BC.

I did not know Ethiopia was in to stem cell therapy so early on in our recorded history.

Maybe the guy has some Nephilim DNA in his make up? LoL