Bows and arrows

[lagarvelho]

All:

I'm unable to discern exactly *where* this was announced, other than a science repporters' article in Britain's "Independent*, but what Mellars says might be of interest to some people here.

The URL:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article878458.ece

You may have to watch the wrap,
Anne G

[Mikey Brass]

Mellars' knowledge of southern African material is very poor.

The bow and arrow is not known until the Holocene in the region claimed to have the earliest expressions of "cognitively modern human behaviour".

[Daryl Habel]

This Independent news article is worthless until the "groundbreaking paper" is revealed unto us.  At that point it becomes a matter of whether or not Mellars has  good answers to the questions about the evidence (what, where, and when)  for this supposed "technological revolution". 

Technological revolution is not a "new" proposal.  It's been proposed for decades.  The issue here is whether Mellars can produce a  "groundbreaking" argument from the evidence (not itemized in detail in the Independent news story).

[jrs]

It probably refers to the new Mellars paper in the PNAS "Early Edition" section that was published online today.

JRS

[Daryl Habel]

Thanks Julien,

Paul Mellars
Why did modern human populations disperse from Africa ca. 60,000 years ago? A new model
PNAS published June 13, 2006, 10.1073/pnas.0510792103 ( Perspective )

available in pdf download, at:

http://btfiles.skpg.org.uk/Mellars2006.pdf

[lagarvelho]

Dar and all::

Just to let you all know, I wasn't claiming the *Independent* article was "worth" anything.  I treated it just as a journalistic announcement.  And, as you all know, these kinds of announcements may or may not have some value.  The Independent didn't say where the conference had taken place, so I'm glad Dar or somebody has been able to dig up the PNAS article.  I downloaded the pdf, but probably won't have time to read it until some time tomorrow.
Anne G

[lagarvelho]

All:

The John Hawks Weblog has some interesting things to say about the recent Mellars paper.  The blog is short but sweet, and you can find it at the following URL:

http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/archaeology/upper/mellars_modern_human_model_2006.html

Probably it won't change any minds or answer any fundamental questions, but it's one answer.
Anne G

[rmacfarl]

For those interested, I heard a radio interview with Mellars yesterday morning. To listen, click on the attached link:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/brkfast/index/default.htm

Then click on the audio link (Real or Windows Media) for 6:20-7:00 AM Thursday 15 July.

For what it's worth, I found him fairly unconvincing...

Ross Macfarlane