Language Post

Shortly after beginning the first conversation, where only one was permitted to speak, it quickly became apparent how difficult this was going to be. It was difficult to start a conversation that we were able to go into depth with. The questions and answers between us had to stay pretty basic in order for us to understand each other. Even then, the conversation was hard to carry on with.

For this experiment, my partner was in control of the conversation. I decided to be the one to try and not speak. Since I couldn’t say anything, there was really no way for me to ask her questions without her getting confused as to what I was trying to say. Most of the conversation consisted of her asking the questions and changing the topics, while I attempted to answer the questions. If I compared this conversation to a balance of power, my partner definitely had the power in this conversation.

If my partner and I were to be compared to two different cultures, she would be the one who would have the advantage of communicating complex ideas. Even though my culture may understand body language with each other, it is not enough to relay complex information to each other. Unfortunately, the culture who has the advantage of using language to communicate will most likely feel superior to the culture who cannot. This can be seen between the interaction of human and wild animals. As humans, we communicate with language while wild animals communicate in their own way that humans do not fully understand. Many humans feel as though they are superior to animals because of our ability to intellectually communicate with each other.

The second conversation was definitely easier, but was still difficult in some ways. I always talk with my hands, so it was extremely difficult to prevent myself from doing that. This time, we could have a slightly more in depth conversation, but due to the lack of emotion it was difficult for us to talk about things that involved feelings or opinion. Afterwards, we both compared the conversation to text messaging. There is no feeling and just using words without feeling can easily cause confusion.

This experiment shows that the use of signs in language is extremely important.  Just using words alone isn’t enough. When receiving the information from a person’s body language when conversing, the feelings about the conversation become apparent. We can tell if one really wants to be having the conversation or not. It also gives us insight to what their opinions are on the matters being discussed.

Being able to read a person’s body language can help us survive in certain situations. It allows us to tell if the person we are with are willing to help us if we are in need or not. By reading body language we get a real sense of their feelings toward us rather than just relying on what they say. This also becomes apparent when reproduction comes into play. When dating, body language is a huge factor when determining if someone is into you or just wants the date to end.

I am sure there are people who have a hard time reading body language, however it is difficult to identify them. I cannot think of a situation when reading body language is not important. I feel as though it is important in every situation. It even allows us to tell if someone is lying or telling the truth. The only situation in which reading body language isn’t available is when we are talking on the phone. However, I don’t necessarily think this makes it unimportant.

Piltdown Hoax

     The Piltdown Hoax started in 1912 in the village of Piltdown in England. A geologist, Charles Dawson came out with a discovery of a piece of an ancient skull he had found when digging in a gravel pit. This skull was said to be about 1 million yeas old. It was a human jawbone. This was significant because it would have been the oldest human remain discovered. It would have also shown that the oldest people might have been in Europe rather then Asia or Africa. It wasn't until around 1953 that the Piltdown bones were reanalyzed using new dating technology. It was discovered that the bones dated back about 100 years and belonged to a female orangutan. There was also evidence the bones were filed down and stained to look much older then they actually were. The scientists involved really had nothing to say. A few were no longer living, while the others just kept their mouths shut on the issue. This was devastating news in the field of human evolution.

     Even though scientists devote their lives to finding out the hard facts, they are still only human. As humans our fault is that we tend to think selfishly sometimes. In this case, the scientists working on the Piltdown project had motive to fake their findings in order to advance their careers. Even though it is unknown who was actually in on the hoax, each one is a likely suspect. Unfortunately whoever was involved let their need for personal gain effect findings that could have changed our theories of human evolution tremendously.

     About 40 years after the Piltdown discovery, new scientific dating processes were starting to become a popular tool when examining fossils. At the Natural History Museum, fluorine tests were performed on the bones. This tested how much fluorine had accumulated in the bones and teeth which allowed for scientists to get an accurate age of the bones. Scientists also used a microscope in order to further examine the teeth. They were able to see they had been filed down to make the perfect shape of a humans. 

     I do not think it is possible to remove the human factor from science. We need scientists to make new discoveries. We can't rely solely on technology. Even that can have its own flaws. This hoax has given insight to scientists to further analyze findings to make sure this kind of thing does not happen again. Removing the human factor from science would not allow for certain advances in certain scientific fields. For example, we cant just rely on technology to go out and dig up fossils. Technology could help analyze it, but we need the human factor to find it in the first place. 

     After learning about this hoax, information cannot always be trusted at face value, no matter how reputable the source is. It is important to get a second opinion, especially from one who is objective to the finding. Seeing how easy it was for the scientists to fake their findings at Piltdown shows that it is just as easy for others to repeat the process but in different aspects of science. 

Primate Post: Dentition Patterns

Sifakas are a type of lemur. They live in the forests of Madagascar. The forests there are dry deciduous and semi evergreen and range from sea level to about 300 feet in elevation. There is a wide variety of plant life giving the Sifakas many different options for food.  They are herbivores eating mostly leaves, flowers, and fruits. Lucky for them there is abundance in their habitat. They are also the prey for many other animals that live there. Hawks, various raptors, and large constrictor snakes tend to prey on Sifakas. Sifakas have a very unique dentition pattern. They have what is called a toothcomb, which consists of a group of front teeth organized like a hair comb. They use this for grooming. They also have a larger tooth on each side, which assists in eating.  This set of teeth allows Sifakas to groom each other and scrape bark off trees for eating which is important in their environment.

Spider Monkeys live in the tropical rain forests of Central and Southern America. These are tropical  climates that consist of evergreen forests. They live in the trees, in the upper canopy. This allows them to hunt without being disturbed by other primates. Spider monkeys are omnivores. They mostly eat fruits and seeds. They also eat leaves, flowers, bark, insects, and bird eggs. Living in such a dense forests gives them a wide variety of food sources. Spider monkeys are the prey of jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and large snakes. These monkey’s dentition patterns differ from old world monkeys. The dental formula for them is 2.1.3.3. This means they have 2 incisors, 1 canine, 3 premolars, and 2 or 3 molars. These type of teeth allow them to easily eat different types of food such as plants and animals. 

                      

The Olive Baboon lives throughout equatorial Africa. They can be found throughout 25 different countries ranging from the west to east coast. They generally live in savannahs near open grasslands or small wooded areas. This habitat consists of moist and evergreen forests. Since these baboons live throughout a wide range of land they must be able to adapt. They mainly forage and extract food from the ground, in the trees, and underground. They are omnivores that eat roots, fruits, leaves, flowers, buds, seeds, bark, cacti, grasses, insects, birds, bird eggs, and small animals. Olive Baboons, considered an old world monkey, has the dentition formula of 2.1.2.3. This means it has 2 premolars and 3 molars along with 2 incisors and 1 canine. These teeth allow them to eat plants as well as small animal prey that they come across throughout their habitat.

The Lars Gibbon is found in the tropical rainforests of southern and Southeast Asia. They mostly live in China, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. These forests are semi deciduous monsoon forests and tropical evergreen forests. They live in the upper canopy and rarely come to the floor of the forest. They mostly eat fruit such as figs, tree fruit, and berries. They also eat buds, flowers, and insects. Sometimes they will eat bird eggs. A few predators that hunt the Lars Gibbon are leopards, tigers, and pythons. The dentition pattern for the Lars Gibbon is similar to the old world monkeys. The formula is 2.1.2.3. The difference between Lars Gibbon and the Olive Baboon is that the canines are not as large and prominent. This is due to the fact that they do not need to find food by eating small animals.

Chimpanzees live in Africa, mostly in the rain forests, woodlands, and grasslands. They are omnivores but mostly eat fruit. They also eat leaves, bark, insects, and meat. Chimpanzees will even hunt other primates for food if they must. They will eat red-tailed monkeys, yellow baboons, and common warthogs. Their main worry as for predators are leopards and even humans. Chimpanzee’s teeth are the most similar to humans, except they have much larger canine teeth then ours. Even though they eat mostly fruit, chimps need large canines to get their fill of meat in their diet. Chimpanzees also use their teeth to warn enemies to stay back. 

After researching the dentition patterns among these five different species of primates, I have noticed that the pattern of their teeth reflects their diets. Each primate has a different set of teeth that allow it to eat the resources it has in its surrounding environment. Since these primates live all over the world, there is no way they can all have the same exact diet. This means they must adapt to their environment to survive. Dentition patterns is on trait that has changed throughout primates to better fit needs.