September 1, 2011

Editor's Selections: Acheulian Axes, Skull Fragments, and Penis Spines

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This week from ResearchBlogging.org:

With breaking news about our evolutionary history, Zach of Lawn Chair Anthropology delivers a nice summary concerning reports of what may be the oldest Acheulian tools found, and questions the ways stone tools have been assigned to particular taxonomies given the histories we do know (or think we do).
Also on the breaking news front, Julien Riel-Salvatore of A Very Remote Period Indeed reports on the discovery of a frontal skull fragment believed to belong to a member of H. erectus. The issue? Julien doesn’t quite think the timing fits but suggests we’ll want to keep our eye on this story as it develops.
I’d be remiss not to point you to Eric Michael Johnson’s discussion on penis spines: while they’re often severely reduced in human males when present at all, for some other primates, these remain a prominent part of anatomy. Eric discusses the potential purpose and significance of these projectiles.

I’ll be back next week with more from anthropology, philosophy, and research.

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