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Science

NYTimes is stunned to learn that early humans had a heart

Dec. 21, 2012 12:41pm Meredith Jessup

A science article published by the New York Times this week struck me as odd: Ancient Bones That Tell a Story of Compassion.

At an exhumed burial site in Vietnam, archaeologists have uncovered an ancient skeleton which they say demonstrates prehistoric “health care”:

NYTimes is stunned to learn that early humans had a heart

(Image: Lorna Tilley/NYTimes)

Almost all the other skeletons at the site, south of Hanoi and about 15 miles from the coast, lie straight. Burial 9, as both the remains and the once living person are known, was laid to rest curled in the fetal position. When Ms. Tilley, a graduate student in archaeology, and Dr. Oxenham, a professor, excavated and examined the skeleton in 2007 it became clear why. His fused vertebrae, weak bones and other evidence suggested that he lies in death as he did in life, bent and crippled by disease.

They gathered that he became paralyzed from the waist down before adolescence, the result of a congenital disease known as Klippel-Feil syndrome. He had little, if any, use of his arms and could not have fed himself or kept himself clean. But he lived another 10 years or so.

They concluded that the people around him who had no metal and lived by fishing, hunting and raising barely domesticated pigs, took the time and care to tend to his every need. …

And earlier this year, in proposing what she calls a “bioarchaeology of care,” Ms. Tilley wrote that this field of study “has the potential to provide important — and possibly unique — insights into the lives of those under study.” In the case of Burial 9, she says, not only does his care indicate tolerance and cooperation in his culture, but suggests that he himself had a sense of his own worth and a strong will to live. Without that, she says, he could not have stayed alive.

Am I the only one who thinks a story like this is odd? What discovery was made here, exactly? Were these archaeologists or Times reporters assuming that the weak and lame were just left to die or, even worse, killed by others in their tribe? Obviously there have been societies in history where this would’ve been the case, but I believe those to be an exception rather than the rule.

Is it really so far-fetched to assume that compassion is a character trait we humans inherit from our oldest ancestors and, if I may interject religion to this scientific discussion, from our Creator?

What do you think? Are you surprised by these findings?

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Comments (7)

media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on December 23, 2012 at 6:45am
If my dog dug up my yard, and then tried to tell me a story about what he found, I would be interested or angry? Knock it off? How many more people are going to get sick digging up stuff they have no business looking at, with all the things we have around to work on?

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SaturdaysWarrior76
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 8:08pm
Every human ever born is given the light of christ. Some will ignore the light of christ while others will be very tuned into it. Whoever this person’s caretaker was… it was someone who was tuned into the light within them. People have this light within them, even if they have never heard of Christ or know who he is. The light of Christ is the love, mercy and tenderness that come naturally if we are tuned into that aspect of ourselves. Anyway, that’s what I think about it.

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- Spirit Warrior Woman
  Posted on December 22, 2012 at 12:42am
  Wrong! Every human born has a soul and is given a chance to choose to accept God’s gift of Holy Spirit, or not.
  Where you got all the rest from surely isn’t in any Bible I’ve studied, and I’ve studied many of them for over 30 years.
  
  Report this comment
- etoddt
  Posted on December 22, 2012 at 12:31pm
  @ Spirit Warrior Woman
  
  The Bible says a lot of things about Christ – it might be helpful to consider John 4:7-8 “…for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God…for God is love.”
  
  The Bible also says, Christ is the Light of the World (John 8:12), that all things were created by Him (John 1:3), that “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4).
  
  If Christ is life (both spiritually and physically, since he created all men), and LIFE is the light of men, then it’s not hard to see how SW76 comes to the conclusion that all men must have “the light of Christ” because they’ve been given life through Christ. If people embrace the light, then they have comprehended it (John 1:5).
  
  So, if is true (“…and every one that loveth is born of God…”), then SW76 can’t be wrong to think that non-Christian people can also have something of God in them. There seems to be some basis for what SW76 is saying.
  
  Honestly, either you’re complaining about SW76′s terminology and religious language, which is silly considering neither have the official seal of God’s approval on your interpretation; or, you’re going as far as to make the case against non-Christians having God’s love… and that might actually be non-Biblical.
  
  Report this comment
Xiccarph
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 6:48pm
In their shock that basic human nature existed in prehistoric times, they failed to provide equally basic information like what, if known, was the cultural affiliation of this site, and what was it dated to. As an archeologist, I find the article pretty much useless information-wise.

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steelpanther
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 2:52pm
Not surprised by anything here. We have to be taught not to care. And it is far fetched to assume compassion is a inherited trait when you realize they think we are nothing more then another breed of animal.

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- SocialistSlayer
  Posted on December 21, 2012 at 5:22pm
  The only thing that surprises me is the ignorance of the NY Times and that they are still in business !
  
  Report this comment

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