INDIA: ARCHAEOLOGISTS REVEAL REMAINS OF

NEW ARCHEAN HUMANOID SPECIES

One of the mysterious skeletons from the archaeological site near Sirsi, India. Chennai | Some much debated ancient human skeletons found in the Western Ghats near Sirsi, in the Indian state of Karnataka, may have revealed the earliest modern humans yet found in the world, according to archaeologists from the University of Palakkad. Laboratory testing has revealed that the new Archean hominid fossils, strongly resembling modern humans, may have lived during the last period of the Archean Era some three to four billion years ago. The bones, which had been recently been uncovered in a deep cave revealed after a rock slide, were discovered by a group of student relic hunters who were searching for ground stone axes and minor copper objects in the area. The astounded students reported the find to their Sirsi school administrator, disclosing they had possibly discovered some form of ancient human remains. Three days later the University of Palakkad archaeological staff were dispatched to the region, quickly recognizing the scientific importance to the cave's discovery, and moved to secure the archaeological site. Senior Professor Vikram Saha was appointed to oversee the field operation for the University of Palakkad and the recovery, and the Indian Ministry of Science sent Professor Prafulla Chandra to authenticate the find prior to disclosure. The fossilized skeletons, encased in solid stone, were of two males each measuring an average of six feet high, and identical to modern humans. Crews found the bones of the ancient remains preserved in the bedrock of the Dharwar or Karnataka Craton, a region of the earth's crust that dates back to the late Archean and was formed between 3.6 and 2.5 billion years ago. The rock has been a stable geologic terrain for several billion years, and is part of the Indian Shield. The team of archaeologists led by Senior Professor Vikram Saha has named the species Homo archaios, which means either ‘Archeon Man’ or ‘ancient, olden or antique’. Exposed bedrock area of the Sirsi site was uncovered when landslides revealed hidden cavern pockets that had not been exposed for billions of years. Within this area the "Sirsi skeletons" were found and recovered under the direction of the Indian Ministry of Sciences. "These Sirsi specimens suggest that "Homo archaios" had indeed possessed a true biological evolution comparable to the earliest finds of modern Homo sapiens skeletons that came from Africa, about 200,000 years ago from this region." remarked Professor Prafulla Chandra. He also mentioned that "no metal or artificial artifacts had been found on the site." While modern humans originated in Africa within the past 200,000 years, scientists speculate, man had evolved from their closest common ancestor, Homo erectus, which means 'upright man' in Latin. Homo erectus was an extinct species of human that lived between 1.9 million and 135,000 years ago. No other earlier forms of men other than the well known Neanderthals appeared during this time, who lived some 130,000 to 40,000 years ago. The entire species then became extinct, as archaeologists believe the rise of Homo sapiens caused them to decline. "This fascinating theory proposes that Oxford Professor Jebidiah Smith's "A Commentary on the Book of Gates" (1868) written ideas about an past Archaen continent named Yidath which were dismissed as pseudo archaeology by researchers during the 19th Century, could indeed have scientific basis behind them," said Professor Simon McMahon of the Department of Earth Sciences, Bourne University. " The Men of Dloth (as Smith had called them) could have lived through these ages, unchanging in evolution, and survived from that ancient Archean past hopping Vaalbara, Kenorland, Nuna, Panaea, and into the modern Holocene Epoch in which we now live today." Fossilized remains of the Archean men after removal from the stone using specialized tools, cutters and drills. The difficult task undertaken took several weeks under cautious management and were prepared for transport to the University of Palakkad's Earth Sciences Department. It remains uncertain by authenticated standards on whether these ancient men originated originally on Yidath and were found in the Western Ghats, billions of years after it fell and succumbed to the "Ages of Continents" of which Yidath was a part. When the Eastern Antarctic Shield was formed, comprising and being composed of the marginal cratons that make up most of southern Africa, India and western Australia, Yidath's rocky remains had also spread out over that part of the world today and with it the fossil evidences of it's past life. The ravine site in the Western Ghats near Sirsi, India. The high cliffs and lack of roads made transportation of scientists and equipment very difficult after the perimeter was secured. The highly controversial enigma of the fossils also remains heavily debated, but Professor Simon McMahon is certain they cannot be linked to any elaborate hoax being that the exposed Sirsi geological site location had been undisturbed for millions of years, and even more recently as the Indian subcontinent had not been under ice during the last Ice Ages some 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. The radiocarbon dating, potassium–argon dating and uranium–lead dating tests of the skeletons have made the archaeologists work very challenging, but Senior Professor Vikram Saha said he believes international cooperation with other research institutions will solve the question of the fossils with definite results by granting the Indian Ministry of Science access to technologies that are not feasibly available in India for the studies.