The part that blows my mind is that according to this article, the idea that we evolved in a straight line was an attempt at fighting nazi propaganda about inferior races. Before ww2, the scientific consensus was that we evolved in a branching species rich manner, same as any other animal.
By 1963 it was again okay to talk about multiple hominid species, so the scientific consensus started moving back in that direction.
I find this fascinating because I never realized science could be so political.
More interestingly still, when the author talks about species being mis-identified as homo sapiens despite stark morphological differences and that they probably represent an extinct close relative, that gave me a funny gut feeling. Felt like dangerous territory to talk about …
By 1963 it was again okay to talk about multiple hominid species, so the scientific consensus started moving back in that direction.
I find this fascinating because I never realized science could be so political.
More interestingly still, when the author talks about species being mis-identified as homo sapiens despite stark morphological differences and that they probably represent an extinct close relative, that gave me a funny gut feeling. Felt like dangerous territory to talk about …
Fascinating