Mysterious East

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient human skull in China, dating back to 80,000 to 100,000 years, which may shed light on a shadowy chapter of evolutionary history. The finding was made by an excavation team led by Chinese archaeologist Li Zhanyang in the central province of Henan. According to National Geographic News, a report from the Chinese government earlier suggested that the fossil came from a modern human, which would have forced a radical reworking of current theories about when our species first left Africa. But, experts have said that the skull likely belongs to a sister or precursor species to modern humans. While still too early to judge the skull"s true significance, it hails from a pivotal evolutionary period, when modern-day humans beganto supplant the ancestral human species Homo erectus.

According to experts, the discovery raises the chances that the two species may have overlapped for some time in China, possibly interbreeding and sharing tools. "The skull shows characteristics of both archaic humans and of Homo sapiens," said Li. "If this is a "modern" Homo sapiens, with a high rounded skull, divided browridge, and chin, and is 80,000 to 100,000 years old, then it would indicate a very early dispersal of moderns eastwards from Africa and the Middle East," said Chris Stringer, a research leader in the Human Origins Program at the Natural History Museum in London. But according to Stringer, the fossil is much more likely to be that of an earlier species. Erik Trinkaus, a paleoanthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, offered a similar assessment after viewing photos of theHenan skull. "Based on the anatomy of the skull, with its large projecting browridge, this appears to be close to Peking Man," he said. The "Peking Man"� refers to a series of half-million-year-old skulls belonging to Homo erectus, which were found in a massive cave on the outskirts of Beijing in the 1920s and 1930s. Experts have said that the discovery of the older Henan skull is important because it increases the possibility that archaic and modern humans coexisted for a time in China, just as they did in Europe.

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A man who kept his mother"s remains in a backpack is just one of a number of similar cases in Japan.A recent investigation aimed at checking up on citizens over 100 years old has been launched following the discovery of an alleged 111 year-old man who was found mummified in his bed after having been deadalmost 30 years.

The remains of a Japanese woman have been found in a backpack, in the latest gruesome discovery by investigators searching for missing old people. The woman"s son told police his mother died in 2001 but he had not been able to pay for a burial.

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Having lived for most of her life in the Cambodian forests "jungle woman" has fled back to the wilds.The 29-year-old disappeared in to the thick forests when she was just a little girl, in 2007 she was found and reunited with her family but struggled to adapt to society. Despite making some progress in recent months and without so much as a word shehas now disappeared back in to the forests again.

Rochom P"ngieng, now 29-years-old, first disappeared into thick hilly jungle in 1989 when she was a little girl. She was "discovered" in early 2007 and reunited with her family. However, attempts to reintegrate her have failed.

View: Full article | Source: Telegraph

In a bizarre marriage this month Korean man Lee Jin-gyu married his pillow in a traditional ceremony.Its one of the most peculiar marriages for some years, the pillow in question bears the face of a female anime character and was photographed at the wedding in a traditional wedding dress as the pair kissed afterexchanging vows.

Remember that episode of "30 Rock" where James Franco"s character was in love with a pillow? Oh that was so funny. You know, because it was a scripted television show. Not real life. I wouldn"t think that would need such a distinction, but then again, I wouldn"t expect a man in Korea to marry a pillow.

View: Full article | Source: HuffingtonPost