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CONTENTS of 1,000,000 BC- 8,001 BC: The peopling of the prehistoric Americas and the extinctions of the American megafauna

This page last updated on or about 10-13-05
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Approximately 878,000 BC to 798,000 BC: Some factions of humanity may be managing to successfully traverse the oceans now, at least in part due to the organizational power of rudimentary speech skills

The most advanced hominids may have possessed robust imitative speech skills for over four million years by now. They've used hand tools for at least one and a half million years, and fire for over a million.

The secret of fire is sufficiently powerful to have greatly rewarded those able to learn and pass along the best possible information on the subject to friends and family-- and dangerous enough to kill and injure or leave defenseless those who couldn't. Inadequate ventilation in fire warmed caves in the winter alone has surely suffocated and/or brain damaged thousands over the millennia-- a substantial portion of the global human population. This die off/dumbing down has likely helped a lot to accelerate human evolution-- especially where the use of fire is concerned. Similar long term costs/benefits may be associated with the manufacture and use of hand tools as well.

The enhancement that their imitative speech skills could give to hand signs and motions and physical demonstrations in the teaching and communication of these ideas must have been crucial to the welfare of untold generations. Thus, it would seem safe to assume that some crude form of spoken language now exists (possibly a hybrid of speech and sign language)-- at least among some factions of humanity.

-- "Ancient mariners"By Tim Thwaites, Melbourne, From New Scientist, 14 March 1998

Some archeologists believe Homo erectus navigated the seas 800,000 years ago-- at least across 15 mile stretches at a time, between islands, and utilizing watercraft more substantial and functional than a crude raft or log-- something like a steerable raft with working sails or paddles at minimum. A workable power of speech (language) also seems evident and necessary to support such a task.

-- ERECTUS AFLOAT By Robert Kunzig, Human Origins 1998, Section: THE YEAR IN SCIENCE, DISCOVER magazine; JANUARY 1999 ["http://www.britannica.com/bcom/magazine/article/0,5744,75730,00.html"]

Thor Heyerdahl undertook several ocean voyages during the 20th century utilizing sea-going craft and equipment as near identical to that estimated for ancient peoples as possible, in order to prove such expeditions were achievable for the ancients.

Among the journeys were:

1947: A 101 day long trip between South America and Polynesia across the Pacific, using a balsa raft named Kon Tiki, with a total of seven men onboard.

1969/1970: The Ra trips using Egyptian reed boats to cross the Atlantic

-- "Heyerdahl Defeats Oceans, Battles Scholars" By Alister Doyle, Reuters/ http://dailynews.yahoo.com/ News, Science Headlines, September 13 1999

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Keep in mind that humanity at this time still cannot start a fire from scratch, and so must obtain it however they can and then maintain it perpetually over generations or else risk becoming subservient to other groups, or more easily falling prey to predators or other threats from the environment.

-- lamp; Encyclopędia Britannica, ["http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/printable/4/0,5722,46974,00.html"] found on or about 2-16-2000, and fire; Encyclopędia Britannica ["http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/8/0,5716,34938+1,00.html"], found on or about 2-16-2000

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