「人類進化」の話

Robin McKie “A wall of skulls shows why story of mankind has to be rewritten” http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/13/wall-skulls-story-mankind-evolution-fossils


倫敦の「自然史博物館」*1の「人類進化ギャラリー」の展示が大幅にリニューアルされたという話。最近の人類進化研究の展開は目を瞠らせる。例えば、2013年に南アフリカのWitwatersrand大学*2のLee Berger*3ティームによって発見されたHomo nalediとAustralopithecus sediba*4。また、2010年にシベリアで発見された「デニソワ人」*5。2003年にインドネシアで発見された「フローレス人」*6。「自然史博物館」ではさらに、イングランドのサマーセット州*7の「チェダー渓谷」*8で発見されたブリテン島最古の定住者にしてカニバリズムの犠牲者であるCheddar Manの遺骨*9、それからかつてチャールズ・ダーウィンが自ら観察したネアンデルタール人の骸骨(発見されたのはジブラルタル)も展示されるという。
画期的な発見が相継いでいる背景。南アフリカにおけるアパルトヘイト体制打破という政治的側面とDNA分析技術の飛躍的発展;


The cause of the recent dramatic rise in rates of palaeontological finds is thought to be partly connected with the opening up of new terrains. The fall of apartheid has helped to make South Africa a mecca for palaeontological searches. However, the main driver has undoubtedly been technological. In particular, the ability to determine the genetic make-up of a fossil from a few grams of bone has transformed researchers’ abilities to distinguish species and identify new ones.

For example, in 2010 scientists – after analysing tiny pieces of human bone and teeth in Denisova cave in the Altai mountains, in Siberia – realised they contained DNA of a previously unknown kind of human*10. These hominins, now known as Denisovans, were related to Neanderthals but also passed on a small percentage of their DNA to groups of modern humans, including Melanesians and Australian Aborigines.

“The pieces of bone were tiny, and although people had been excavating in the cave for a long time and had made finds, there was no way they could know these came from a completely new type of human until DNA technology revealed the truth,” added Stringer*11 .

また、研究へのGoogle Earthとドローンの活用;

On top of these techniques, scientists such as Lee Berger are using Google Earth to search for promising sites for new excavations while drones have also begun to make an impact in surveying for ancient human remains. One project recently launched in Kenya – where some of the most important fossil finds ever have been made – allows the public to play a part in finding new sites. For example, as part of the online citizen science project Fossilfinder, volunteers sift hundreds of thousands of images taken by drones and kites of the Turkana Basin, a key area for fossils of early human ancestors.

*1:http://www.nhm.ac.uk/index.html See eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_Museum,_London https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AD%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%83%B3%E8%87%AA%E7%84%B6%E5%8F%B2%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A4%A8

*2:http://www.wits.ac.za/ See eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_the_Witwatersrand

*3:http://www.profleeberger.com/ See eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Rogers_Berger Mentioned in http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20120419/1334849609

*4:See Chris Stringer “This face tells us why we must rethink our views on our ancestors” http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/13/homo-naledi-new-light-orogins-of-species

*5:See also http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20100325/1269494305 http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20141025/1414203059

*6:See eg. Robin McKie “Homo floresiensis: scientists clash over claims 'hobbit man' was modern human with Down's syndrome” http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/aug/16/flores-hobbit-human-downs-syndrome-claim-homo-floresiensis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_floresiensis https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9B%E3%83%A2%E3%83%BB%E3%83%95%E3%83%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B7%E3%82%A8%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B7%E3%82%B9

*7:http://www.somerset.gov.uk/ See eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset

*8:See eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheddar_Gorge

*9:See Robin McKie “Bones from a Cheddar Gorge cave show that cannibalism helped Britain's earliest settlers survive the ice age” http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/jun/20/ice-age-cannibals-britain-earliest-settlers

*10:See Ian Sample “Fossilised finger points to previously unknown group of human relatives” http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/dec/22/fossilised-finger-human-relatives-denisovans

*11:Chris Stringer。自然史博物館学藝員。http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/about-science/staff-directory/earth-sciences/c-stringer/index.html See eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Stringer