Applied Anthropology

To misquote a certain cat, "We're all a little dumbass around here".

My comment wasn't reflecting the entrenched dogma in science, which does happen, although not as often as some insinuate. My comment was more about how long this particular entrenched dogma held on - for generations! Longtime friends have had to listen to me gripe about this land bridge nonsense for decades! I cannot even tell you why, I just never believed it was valid.
 
Possibly because a "landbridge" as described is counter-intuitive? In order for the water to recede, it had to get colder and lock the water in glacial ice...BLOCKING any supposed route? Makes far more sense to skirt the coastal edge of the glacier in boats...both Pacific *and* Atlantic. That would help explain Solutrean tools found here as well, and the only plausible explanation for the coastal Peruvian cave find.
 
wil said:
Science is a religion eh? It has its foibles...
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Indeed. This is a rare moment when it comes to light.

Old ways die hard though, I won't be the least surprised if school texts 20 years from now still tout the Clovis people as the first Americans.
 
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http://elifesciences.org/content/4/e09560

Homo Naledi

New find that may further shape our anthropological history. In short it seems in this instance that "modern human" hands and particularly feet and legs, preceded the enlarged brain. In other words, this early Homo walked upright before it had the expanded capacity to think.

Found deep in a cave in South Africa, in a situation that makes dating difficult. The researchers are still puzzling over where this species fits in the order of succession.
 
juantoo3 said:
t appears there are certain chemicals, related to opioids, which are contained in grain. These chemicals trigger mild euphoric feelings in humans, as well as other mental status changes, including addiction.
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Gluten does not produce euphoria. Glutamine, a yeast product, has a slightly stimulating effect but is not highly addictive. Alcohol, which is also produced by yeast, does. I don't feel high eating bread... I read the theory about grain having been cultivated for the production of alcohol before. Seems more reasonable than theories on components of wheat.
Drug addiction may have contributed to agriculture because it's a strong constraint that shouts for a solution, and drugs were cultivated on all continents.
 
talib-al-kalim said:
Gluten does not produce euphoria. Glutamine, a yeast product, has a slightly stimulating effect but is not highly addictive. Alcohol, which is also produced by yeast, does. I don't feel high eating bread... I read the theory about grain having been cultivated for the production of alcohol before. Seems more reasonable than theories on components of wheat.
Drug addiction may have contributed to agriculture because it's a strong constraint that shouts for a solution, and drugs were cultivated on all continents.
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What you write here has crossed my mind in the past.

The only other thing I can offer is Ergot. Spoiled grain produces an LSD-like component, which is implicated in both the French Revolution and the Salem Witch trials. Improper storage could have easily led to contaminated grain.

Yes, "corn" in the US is only used for maize, where the term is a bit more encompassing in Europe (John Barleycorn being only one example).
 
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