Cannibal tooth yields oldest ever human DNA

[UM-Bot 9,800]

Scientists have analyzed genetic material from a tooth of an ancient human ancestor that lived 800,000 years ago.

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/336146/cannibal-tooth-yields-oldest-ever-human-dna

[third_eye 47,127]

Nom nomm nom... Yummy yum yumm

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[Piney 70,844]

2 hours ago, UM-Bot said:

Scientists have analyzed genetic material from a tooth of an ancient human ancestor  species that lived 800,000 years ago.

Is how the article explains it and if they were cannibals, it was probably a major contributor towards them dying out. 

[third_eye 47,127]

Or maybe there was a violent encounter and all they had was hands, feet and teeth... 

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[Piney 70,844]

1 minute ago, third_eye said:

Or maybe there was a violent encounter and all they had was hands, feet and teeth... 

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Very doubtful. Our mutual ancestor, Homo Erectus used spears.  

[third_eye 47,127]

16 minutes ago, Piney said:

Very doubtful. Our mutual ancestor, Homo Erectus used spears.  

Still... I don't believe they'll stop and time out if spears were unavailable... 

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[Nnicolette 1,931]

1 hour ago, third_eye said:

Or maybe there was a violent encounter and all they had was hands, feet and teeth... 

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I think they are inferring that the way the bones were cut and fragmented suggested haven been eaten by each other.

Edited April 7 by Nnicolette

[third_eye 47,127]

38 minutes ago, Nnicolette said:

I think they are inferring that the way the bones were cut and fragmented suggested haven been eaten by each other.

There's this little odd tradition of keeping tokens of revered kindred that is beginning to surface from studies of ancient burials found so far. 

All I am thinking and still believing is cannibalism looks more to me like a collapse of a social system than at the start of social structuring. 

Early days yet and still longer days ahead for anything conclusive either way, just a personal question, not saying I'm smarter than the experts. 

~

 

 

[acute 62,296]

I hope they did a filling afterwards.

[Artaxerxes 154]

If you are starving you'll eat anything. Just saying?