Or if you would prefer, stone tool making. Before I get to how we hominids make tools from stone, I want to start off with the hominid that first created these stone tools. Why they began to make them, we are not sure, but psychical anthropologists have theorized that it had something to with with increased brain size. Now who were these big brained hominids? They are know as Homo habilis, which means “hand man.” And seeing how they were the first to use stone tools there is now wonder why they are called “hand man.”
       Homo habilis lived 2.4-1.6 million years ago at the end of the paleolithic (old stone) period. I think that it was because of H. habilis that we were able to get to the neolithic period (new stone). It was discovered by the husband of the person who discovered the Laetoli footprints, Louis Leakey. Although, seeing how the footprints were found in Olduvai gorge, as was the first H. habilis, it was only a matter of time that it was found.        
       The way we know that these were the first hominids to use stone tools is because when it was found also found in the area around the find were 200 stone tools beside elephant bones. The type of tools found included choppers, scrapers, hammer stones, and sharp flakes. Choppers, which are under the term “Oldwan,” were small stones from which flakes were removed to make sharpened irregular sides. To take these flakes off a stone, they needed to use hammer stones, which they used just like our modern hammer. Scrapers were used for skinning animals and the flakes were what was left over from tall this stone tool making.
       The materials they used greatly varied. From flit, quartz, obsidian, and chert (examples below). They need to get a core and a hammer stone. The hammer stone had to be impervious to breaking against the core because that would make an uneven break on the core thus having to break off more than that was needed from the core. After they would have to very carefully shape the flake that was seen as ideal for the job at hand (hunting, cutting, scraping), with the hammer stone. 

       Now the making of stone tools is called “knapping.” There are a few ways to knapp but the most basic form of knapping, which is most likely the type H. habilis used is projectile percussion. Some modern knappers do not consider this a technique. This involved throwing the stone at a stationary anvil stone (similar to the hammer stone as in they had to make sure it would not break). Even though this method would result in flakes, with this method they had no control over how the core would fragment. Although, anthropologists believe that the cause of this method was the spark that inspired later hominids to create knives, spear points, and axes and to further the method of projectile percussion to what we now call hard hammer percussion. If you look closely at the image of obsidian above the ripples on the top right of it is the effect of knapping. 
       Even though stone tools are from the stone age, a lot of stone tools are still used today. Some surgeons use obsidian scalpels because unlike modern steel scalpels, obsidian ones have been found to be more precise and do not rust.
       So if you ever try hard hammer percussion, just remember to be safe and use a sturdy strong hammer stone.
       Please feel free to leave me a comment either about this blog or on an anthropological subject you would like me to cover.  

       When it comes to dating methods, there is no right one because it all depends on what materials you have to work with, what you have at your disposal, and how close you would want to get to how old it is you would have to several methods. Dating methods are grouped into two categories. One is relative dating, this goes from the big picture to the small picture to try and pinpoint just when something occurred. Although this only tells us if something is older or younger than something else but does not say by how much. Then there is absolute, or chronometric, dating which gives an idea of how old something is without having to compare it to another artifact.
       The most well known method of absolute dating is radiocarbon dating, or C14 dating, although saying that, not many people know just what happens. I will do my best to explain in layman terms. Every organism, human, plant, animal, has carbon isotopes. When this organism dies, the unstable carbon isotopes slowly begin to decay. Now when this material begins to decay it does it in a definite mathematical pattern. This forms “an accurate geological time clock of sorts.”1
       Another form of absolute dating is less complicated, it is called dendrochronology. This is to get a date from the rings inside a tree sample. When examining a good sample of wood, one that includes the outermost growth ring, dendrochronology can be extremely accurate and “can give not only the year that a tree was felled but even the season.”2 That said it is sometimes difficult to do. Reason being is that pieces of wood containing a long enough sequence of rings are required, of which are pretty big.
       With relative dating, as I have stated before, you need something to compare it to. What better thing to use than the good 'ol planet earth! How? Well, stratigraphy. With this one the archaeologist or paleoanthropologist (those who work with extinct hominids) use the layers of dirt to see just when something was there. I have included an example at the end of this blog what stratigraphy is. The layer on top is the most recent, and as the layers continue down it goes further and further back in time. If you ever have seen a rock with some cool lines on it, those cool lines can tell a story longer than life.
       But just knowing that something came before something else does not end with the stratigraphic method. The archaeologist or paleoanthropologist carefully insert a big tube into the earth, pull it out, then, again, carefully open it. Once it is open they can see the different layers and can immediately tell what kind of seasons or weather was going on when certain layers of earth were put down. Another way they use stratigraphy is when excavating.
        I am sure you have seen those shows where the archaeologist or paleoanthropologist has little square parts boxed off by wire or thread. Real ones do actually use those. Reason being is that they need to write out in which box they found a certain item, and how deep they found it. That is why when they are digging for something they have to be very careful if they do not know just how deep it is. In these sort of excavations, context is everything. If an artifact is taken out of context, or is removed without writing down where exactly it was found, it becomes useless.
       Case in point...archaeologists, anthropologists, paleoanthropologists, most of us, depending one what field of each we are in, date old things. 

1: Introduction to Physical Anthropology: Jurmain, Kilgore, Trevathan, with Ciochon
2: Archaeology Trail

       Currently there are many creatures that can walk on two legs, for example, pigeons, and many that run on two legs, like lizards, but there is one that walks on two legs exclusively. That one exclusively bipedal (walking on two legs) creature is us, humans. This is common in all humans. Sure babies are quadrupedal (walking on four legs), but eventually they began to learn how to walk bipedally. But why? What influenced the evolution to begin walking bipedally?
       It all began with one word: necessity. It may seem like walking bipedally was the first step, but the first step was a smaller jaw bone. After that the extra space was filled in with brains. When we got bigger brains, it was as if evolution was put into fast forward. From the first hominid that was bipedal, the australopithecus afarensis, to where we, homo sapiens, are, it only took around 4 millions years. I know that still seems like a very long time but if you look at it in terms of billions of years, 4 million looks like a spit in the bucket. But I guess I have not answered why we began to walk bipedally.
       As I stated before, the first evidence of our lineage bipedalism was dated to about 4 million years ago. If you would look at the photo below this is a photo of the Laetoli footprints. You can see how they dug into the soil with their heels and pushed off with the toes like we do. And the evolutionary ancestor was the australopithecus afarensis. What is more is you can see that they were walking with another bipedal hominid, most likely a child australopithecus afarensis.
       This evolutionary step was fortunate for us because it helped us survive. Even though we did not have the feet or hands to climb trees as fast as our brachial (tree climbing) ancestors, we had the advantage of being able to see over tall grass. Not only that but we were able to carry tools and weapons, able to hunt and gather. It also helped with our migrating. If were were still quadrupedal our backs would have gotten most of the heat from the sun and we would have had to rest more. With bipedalism we were able to cool off more quickly with the sun would only have hit our heads, that is why we have hair to protect us. Also with bipedalism we are able to do long-distance walking. 
       Since we have seen the humans around us walking as humans walk we do not see it as anything special. But just think, next time you go out for a walk or even get up to get a drink of water, this thing we take advantage of is one of the major reasons our species is still alive. Without this evolutionary breakthrough we would have ended 4 million years ago.  

  

       The neanderthal (neander-tal), or cave people, are not, as most of society believes, one of our evolutionary ancestors. While they evolved in Africa but migrated to Europe, one of our evolutionary ancestors, the cro magnon (crow-man-yon), were already in Europe. Unlike the cro magnon who had a slightly bigger brain size of 1,600 cubic centimeters, the neanderthal's brain was 1,520 cubic centimeters. That said, their brains were bigger than modern humans, whose brain measures between 1,300 and 1,400 cubic centimeter. But it is theorized that the cold climate they were living in could have influenced the brain size. The reason for this is because studies have shown that the Eskimo have larger brain size than a human living with the modernness that today gives us.
       Now since both the neanderthal and the cro magnon were eventually living during an ice age evolution had to give them a body size that would help them survive. The cro magnon were built strong and tall (average size being 5 feet 9 inches) while the neanderthal were short and stocky but strong. This stockiness was a benefit for the neanderthal because that meant they were able to keep more body heat than the cro magnon. However their bodies along with life style would be the start to their down fall.
       When the climate changed a lot of the food supply was scarce, and most of the neanderthal diet consisted of deer, wild boar, and the occasional mammoth. But just hunting was a very dangerous activity for them. Reason being they charged at their prey. If they lost the kill they would starve until another opportunity arrived or some would be killed by the animal they were after. In times of extreme hunger they would eat the weakest of their own for the greater good of that individual tribe. With this climate change though, the cro magnon thrived. They, unlike the neanderthal, would not charge at their prey, instead they had taught themselves to make spears that when thrown would impale the animal. Also, through that they had wonderful hand/eye coordination and began to fish.
       Even though it was an ice age the temperatures fluctuated frequently. For this the cro magnon could adapt, sadly though, the neanderthal could not. Once the neanderthal became accustomed to a certain life style the climate change would be so drastic that the life they had worked so hard to get used to was gone and replaced by completely different animals and plants.
       With two types of hominids living in the same place at the same time for 10,000 years, they were bound to cross paths. We don't know what happened when this did happen. There have been theories that the neanderthal would spy on these new creatures and try to apply what they were seeing to their life, or that the cro magnon killed them off. But current studies have shown that there was a meeting of the minds because of artifacts found amoung the cro magnon and amoung the neanderthal of which the neanderthal hadn't the technology or knowledge to make. There also have been theories with DNA proof the neanderthal might have just interbred with the cro magnon. So the neanderthal might not be extinct, we all might have a little neanderthal in us.  

       Death. That word has become a taboo in many modern cultures. Even though this is inevitable to all living beings. Since the time of the Neanderthals, there have been rituals for burial and mourning. It is not clear when we humans began to make death as something that we can see, but the first case of personified death the first recoded case was in ancient Greece.
       The Greeks saw death as for what it is, something that is inevitable and therefore not good or evil. They made death either into a bearded man with wings or as a young boy. What is curious about this is that they made death into a man and life into a woman. This is understandable since women give birth.
       That said, the Polish version of death is similar to the stereotypical Grim Reaper, but the robe is white instead of black, also instead of a man it is a woman. The female death is not exclusive to Poland though, In Scandinavia, in Norse Mythology has a goddess of death. During the Black Plague this figure was personified as an old woman in a black hood that was named “Pesta,” which means “plague hag.” This was an interesting personification because in art works if she was seen in a town with a rake only a few would die, but if she was seen with a broom all would die. Sadly, the Scandinavians scummed to the image of death as what we think of death now, a skeleton with a scythe and black robe; the Grim Reaper.
       With that in mind, why is death always a human? Whether it be a human with skin or a skeleton of a human, it is, nevertheless, human. I know that we cause a lot of destruction and murder in the world, but even when the skeleton is not death, humans are still scared of it. Now, I wonder, why would you want to see something you are terrified of as you die? Is the skeleton instead made to personify the fear of death rather than death itself? Also, if you were scared of your skeleton, why have we not made it into something cuter? Like a hamster or a bunny?
       But why would you fear something that is inside all of us. I know that we cannot see our skeletons unless we undergo an x-ray, but just because we can only see it for others once they are dead and completely decomposed does not mean we should fear it. If anything we should be grateful we have it. As I am typing this, sure the muscles are working, but it is because I have phalanges (finger bones) for the muscles to attach to that I can. From typing to walking even to talking we need our bones to do these things.
       Now when I asked the question that is the title to this blog, I didn't have an answer. I still don't. I just hope to reach out to anyone who reads this, don't be afraid of your skeleton. It is okay to be afraid of death, but why make it some form that you've learned to fear even if it is inside all humans. If anything this coalition between death and the human skeleton just increases fear. It does not need to be personified to be seen. It just happens.  

(You can find an audio version at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1Iwaq6Ktp4 ...more to come soon.)