CREATION OF THE EARTH

                                                DAY  SIX

INTRODUCTION

The question was: “Is man found on the earth?” And the answer was: “No, Man is not found on the earth!” Therefore, all of the so called Pre-Adamic men are in no way associated with Adam and Eve, they are  animals that are  “like man,” Homo Habilus, ‘they are man- like in habit.’ They were not nurtured by a mother and father in heaven with a pedigree associated with the Divine Mother and Father and a history of eternal beings.  But with a history which is almost 5.5 million years, discoveries of pre-adamic man has been a challenge. The fossil remains of Lucy are dated at 3.8 million,  (Johanson (1967) are known by most everybody.

The science of Palaeolithic archaeology was nearly aborted when in the beginning of the eighteenth century there was no follow up to the discovery of John Frere who “reported that his discovery of handaxes deeply buried and in association with fossil bone” (Isaac p. 14) suggested a considerable antiquity.  A “Little later the eccentric Boucher De Perthes made a succession of similar discoveries and though himself lacked a coherent scheme,” (Isaac  p. 14) and his interpretation did not fit any current models, nothing came of his  discoveries. The writings of Darwin (1858) and Wallace (1859) did not, at that time, help much either.  But by 1859 the two geologists,  Sir  Joseph Prestwich and Sir John Evans,  were convinced of their authenticity. (Davis p. 20)       

MAN APE

The first publicized discovery of an ancient man like creature was in 1925 by Raymond  Dart in south Africa: -“the partial juvenile skull from the Buxton Limeworks at Taung: …[ giving it  a new name] of  “Genus  and species, Australopithicus africanus…the man-ape of south Africa.” (Nature, 115, pp. 195-199, 1925).  He went on to make additional discoveries and prepare articles on them in 1929, 1934, and 1948, calling the ancient remains  ‘proto-man.’” (Grine  p. 547) Then came the discoveries and  interpretations, by Solas (1929, Broom (1925),  Romer (1925), Dart (1934), Broom, (1938, 1948), Simpson (1945), Robinson (1954), May (1950, 1963, 1964), then Leakey (1959 and 1964).”  (Grine pp. 519-1510) After 1960 there were many more new discoveries, the hunt was on for the ‘missing ‘link, calling for more Genus and species names, and dating back more than 4 million years. World wide more than 100 sites have been found and dug. There were more than 23 major sites in Africa alone, located in the far northern coasts of Africa to its very southern tip. (Grine p. 501) Thus was born the sciences of zoo-archeology or archaeozoology, to bridge “two disciplines--palaeozoology and anthropology….” (Davis p.19) and dovetailed into osteology.  ”The scale of work  can be enormous. In 46 months one team recorded 32,000 fossils and 37,000 artifacts from 43 levels at 13 sites in Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge. The equivalent of a trench 1 mile long, 10 feet wide and 10 feet deep.” (Lambert p. 225) At least 53 men and women have contributed to the study of so called ‘ancient man,’ these have been summarized by Lambert (Lambert pp. 237-241). Sites go back to as old as 5.5  million  years. (Lambert pp. 121-125) There are many sites being found each year, as noted more than 100 sites and counting, world wide, with their discoverers and specialists, and located on maps and graphs, in Lambert, his is one of the best books on the subject. 

CALLAO CAVE

The latest discovery, touted as the “New Member of our Family tree, found in the Philippines in Callao Cave, [an] … expansive seven chamber limestone warren.” (Dengler p. 42)                      

But, “Adam was the first man of all Men.” (Moses p. 1-34). Michael, Adam, the father of us all, and Eve were spirit children of our mother and father in heaven. She was born and foreordained along with Adam to people this earth with their posterity. “She was the mother of all living” (Moses 4:26).  She was seen as “as one of the Great and mighty ones” by Joseph F. Smith in his great Vision (D&C 138:38-39; Pearl of Great Price p. 114)

ADAM

“The first man (Hebrew,Adam, ”human”)… with whom God himself.” conversed. (Largey p. 14; Moses 6:22)  “Lexicographers, like many clergymen, are not at all sure Adam and Eve were ever real individuals who once lived and breathed here on earth, or that the ‘Garden of Eden’ was anything more than the figment of someone’s imagination.” (Peterson p. 2)

Philip Piper, an archaeologist at the Australian National University said: ”it’s probably just a matter of time before more discoveries of species of hominin.” (Dengler p. 42)  

“Researchers continued to excavate the cave, eventually unearthing more bones--plus seven teeth-- from three individuals who lived at least 50,000 years ago… they were alive at the same time as Neanderthals, Denisovans and our own species, as well as Homo floresiensis  who lived in Indonesia…[the teeth] have features that resemble the  molars of H. erectus,… a much earlier human species that dispersed out of Africa about 2 million year ago.” (Denger p. 43) “The toe and finger bones of H. luzonensis look like those of australopiths, human predecessors that lived some 3 million years ago.”(Dengler p. 43) 

“The discovery of Homo luzonensis on an Island that was never connected to mainland Asia, and which would have required a significant sea crossing to reach adds to the mystery surrounding the latest addition to our family tree.”(Dengler p. 43)  The study of ancient man-- like forms is a highly specialized field, and an exciting one,  but a futile one, they have no relationship to Adam and Eve or the present human family.    

“By about four million years ago apes in Africa had given rise to hominids that walked on two legs only.  Bipedalism fostered hand -eye coordination and brain development [and changes in the  lung and lung cavity, the hands, knees, feet, ear and teeth]. So emerged the human tribe: Hominini.  Its oldest members seemingly comprised the genus Australopithecus. Many scientists believe one such “man-ape” gave rise to little Homo habilis, the first known species of our genus Homo.“(Grine p. 509) Or so  the theory goes. But a theory does not have the dignity of being a fact.

“Hominins, Homo Erectus …walked out of Africa almost 2 millions years ago….the last place the Hominins survived was on  the island of Java. 12 H. erectus skulls from Ngandong were between 117,000 and 108,000 years ago.”

“The world’s oldest known cave art …[was] discovered on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and dated to at least 44,000 years go….features a number of part- human part- animals figures hunting wild pigs and dwarf buffaloes…[showing] all the concepts of art were fully  developed …they must have had  a much earlier origin in Africa…More than 200 cave art sites have been documented in this region of southern Sulawesi.” (Weiss p. 13)

                                            BIBLOGRAPHY

JOHANSON, Donald&& Maitland Edey, Lucy, The Beginnings of Humankind, Warner Books, New, 1982

DAVIS, Simon J.M., Archaeology of Animals, Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 1987

DENGLER, Roni, New member OF Our Family Tree Found in Philippines, Discover Magazine, January/February, 2020. 

LARGEY, Dennis L., Ed., The Pearl of Great Price Reference Companion, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, 2017

LAMBERT, David, and the Diagram Group, The Field Guide to Early Man,  Facts On File Publications, New York, 1987

PETERSON, Mark E. Adam Who is He, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, 1976

TOBIAS, Phillp V., The Brain in Hominid Evolution, Columbia *University Press. New York, 1971

ISAAC,  Glen, The Archaeology of Human Origins, Cambridge University,  1989

WEISS, Daniel, Archeology, March/April, 2020

URBANUS. Jason, Archaeology, March/April, 2020