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Plate Tectonics

By dating rocks and fossils scientists can document the movement of the continents over time.  To confirm and refine this science, geologists study rocks, paleontologists study fossils, and anthropologists study human societies, cultures, and relics. The location and dating of rocks, fossils, and relics allow us to understand the distant past. Cynognathus, circa 242 million

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© N. Tamura (CC BY-SA)

Purgatorius — Earliest known proto-primate.

Within mammals, only primates have binocular vision, grasping hands, and flat nails–instead of claws. Purgatorius might have had all three earning it the earliest known proto-primate label. It lived in Eastern Montana about 66 million years ago during the very last years of the Cretaceous period. It lived through the K-T extinction event and the extinction

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Spiral strands of DNA on the dark background

“The” Human DNA

2,400 Generations Ago The modern human DNA evolved sometime between 71,000 and 51,000 BCE. Imagine that. A human baby born today, and a human baby born in 60,000 BCE have nearly indistinguishable DNA. There are differences but essentially humans are the same now as they were then. The popular website 23andme.com focuses on 23 changes in

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Hyoid Bone: Speach Emerges

Around 700,000 years ago, the development of a human-like hyoid bone suggests early hominins may have begun transitioning from simple vocalizations to more structured speech. This period marks a critical evolutionary point for Homo heidelbergensis, whose anatomical adaptations for speech, coupled with advanced tool use and complex social structures, indicate possible use of rudimentary language.

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Homo habilis: Our Intelligence Settles.

92,000 Generations Ago Earliest Identified Human: Earlier hominins are “humanoid,” due to their human-like features, but the term “human” is reserved for species in the genus Homo. Homo habilis is the earliest known of these “early humans.” First Earth Explorer: Known as the “handy man,” Homo habilis’s association with the earliest stone tools is evidence

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Homo neanderthalensis: Verified True Symbolic Thought

16,000 Generations Ago True symbolic thought emerges before 430,000 BCE: The discovery in 2018 of Neanderthal art dating back to 68,000 years ago, proved symbolic thought in Neanderthals. It also indicates strongly that symbolic thought evolved in or before our common ancestor about 430,000 years ago. This must be true unless either they evolved it

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St Geaorge Monastery Desert

Jericho Founded

360 Generations Ago Earliest known permanent settlement in the Africa/Middle East zone.  Jericho, located in the West Bank, Palestinian Territories, stands as one of the earliest known permanent settlements in the Africa/Middle East zone, with continuous habitation dating back to at least the 9th millennium BCE. Situated near an oasis in the Jordan Valley, Jericho’s

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Iodine 131(I-131)Radioactive isotopes used for hyperthyroidism treatment are stored in Lead boxes

Radiometric Dating

5 Generations Ago In 1905, radiometric dating was discovered. It is a method used to date rocks and other objects based on the known decay rate of radioactive isotopes. This technique is used to date rocks. Paleontologists regularly order discoveries in chronological order and estimate their age. Knowing the age of rocks allows paleontologists to assign known

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We all need a little CAFFEINE

Radiocarbon Dating

In 1946, Willard Libby created the method for dating organic materials by measuring their content of carbon-14, a newly discovered radioactive isotope of carbon. This dating technique provides objective age estimates within a few decades for carbon-based objects that originated from living organisms.

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