Naturalis Historia: Volume VI

African Exodus

Scientists have long believed that humans originated in Africa. Ethiopia, to be exact, could be called our homeland. All the different types, shapes, and shades of people on Earth can trace their ancestry to African hunter-gathers 150,000 years ago. The evidence is in our DNA, right there in our bodies. Genetic mutations act as markers and can tell us our history. On the Y chromosome, all males share the same basic configuration, rooted in Africa. The marker M168 was carried out of Africa and is found on all non-African males. The diversity of genetic markers is greatest in Africa, which could only have arisen as DNA mutated over millenia. So you see, we are all African.

Part 1.
Time: 200,000 years ago
Where: Ethiopia
→ Most anthropologists and geneticists agree that modern humans arose about 200,000 years ago in Eastern Africa. The earliest modern human fossils were found in Omo Kibish, Ethiopia.

Part 2.
Time: 70,000-50,000 years ago
Where: Red Sea
→ A small group of modern humans left Africa for good (“Out of Africa II” model) between 70-50,000 years ago. All non-Africans are descendants of these travelers, who eventually replaced all earlier types of humans, including Neandertals. This exodus might have occurred around the top of the Red Sea or its narrow southern opening, bringing humans into the Middle East.

Part 3.
Time: 50,000 years ago
Where: Indonesia & Australia
→ Artifacts around 50,000 years old from two sites in Australia, Malakunanja and Lake Mungo, indicate that humans followed a coastal path along southern Asia and then island-hopped until reaching Australia. Their descendants, Australian Aborigines, remained genetically isolated on the island continent until the fairly recent colonization.

Part 4.
Time: 40,000-30,000 years ago
Where: Europe
→ It was assumed that humans migrated into Europe from North Africa. However, genetic data now shows that the DNA of today’s western Eurasians resembles that of people in India. In other words, Europe was populated by an inland migration from Asia only about 40,000 years ago.

Part 5.
Time: 40,000 years ago
Where: Asia
→ From the Middle East, humans pushed into Central Asia and arrived north of the Himalaya. Others traveled through Southeast Asia and China, eventually reaching Japan and Siberia.

Part 6.
Time: 20,000-15,000 years ago
Where: The Americas
→ Genetic evidence shows that humans in northern Asia eventually migrated into the Americas. 20,000 years ago, sea levels were low and land connected Siberia to mainland Alaska, allowing migration to occur. The travelers would have continued down the west coast into South America since ice sheets would have covered the interior of North America.

Source: Shreeve, James. “The Greatest Journey.” National Geographic Mar 2006: 61-69.
Related Article: Austro-Asiatic tribes of Northeast India provide hitherto missing genetic link between South and Southeast Asia.

Naturalis Historia: Volume V

Brief Lexicon of Animal & Nature Deities

The lexicon section is a list of a very few selected gods, goddesses, and spirits associated with nature and animals. As you can see, many different cultures have their own ways of deifying animals and personifying nature.

Ancient Eygpt
The ancient Eyptians greatly revered various animals. They thought that some of their gods and goddesses represented themselves by a specific animal. Honoring that animal was thought to please the god or goddess, so these animals lived pampered lives themselves!

BABOON » the dog-headed baboon was one of the manifestations of both Thoth, the god of writing, and Khonsu, the moon god. Hapy, the son of Horus, a god that guarded the canopic jars, had the head of a baboon as well.
CAT » Many deities were depicted as cats, so these animals were seen as benevolent and sacred. Bast, the goddess of love and fertility, was a cat, and was Ra.
CATTLE » Symbolized the mother of the Pharoah and also female fertility. The god Osiris was related to the bull.
COBRA » The cobra goddess Renenutet was a fertility goddess who was sometimes depicted as nursing children and as protector of pharaoh. Another cobra goddess was Meretseger, who could punish criminals with blindness or her venom.
CROCODILE » Ammut, the demoness at the judgement hall, had the head of a crocodile along with other fearful creatures, and was known as ‘the devourer of the dead’ who punished evildoers by eating their hearts.
FALCON/HAWK » The sacred bird of Horus. The falcon had protective powers and was regarded as royalty, often hovering over the Pharaoh’s head.
FROG » Because the Egyptians saw that there were many frogs, all appearing from the Nile, they associated the frog with fertility and resurrection.
HERON » Thought to be the original phoenix – it was a bird of the sun and rebirth.
IBIS » Regarded as the reincarnation of Thoth, the ibis was sacred to the god of knowledge, who had the form of an ibis-headed man.
JACKAL » Associated with Anubis, the god of embalming and mummification, who was depicted as a black coloured jackal (or dog) or a man with the head of a black jackal or dog. Also, one of the gods who gaurded the canopic jars was jackal-headed.
LION » The lion was connected with the rising and the setting of the sun, and so were thought to be guardians of the horizon and were linked to solar deities. Other deities included war and love gods.
PIG » Sacred to Set, god of chaos.
SCARAB BEETLE » Personified as the sun god, much like how a scarab beetle pushes dung in a ball, so the sun god pushes the sun across the sky.
SNAKE & TURTLE » Associated with darkness and evil and the underworld.
VULTURE » Sacred to Mut, mother goddess. The vulture often holds the symbol of eternity in its talons, offering eternal protection to the pharaoh. As such, the vulture is closely linked to rulership.

(source: Animals & the Gods of Egypt)

Greek Mythology
The gods and goddesses of Olympus had animals that symbolized themselves, and therefore, these animals were associated with the trait that the god had. Unlike Egyptian mythology, the Greek gods did not turn into their animal as an avatar (although some gods could turn into various animals). There were also various nature spirits & lesser deities associated with animals.

ZEUS » He governed the seasons, caused thunder and lightening, and other weather by hitting his aegis (shield) made from the skin of Amaltheia, the she-goat that raised him. Zeus’s sacred animal was the eagle, so it was thought of as kingly.
HERA » Her sacred animals included the peacock (the symbol of pride; her wagon was pulled by peacocks) and the cow. The crow and the pomegranate (symbol of marriage) are also dedicated to her.
POSEIDON » This god of the seas was characterized by horses (symbol of revenge and earthquakes), dolphins, and fish.
ATHENA » Her sacred animal was the owl; symbolized wisdom and learning.
ARTEMIS » Artemis is the goddess of the wilderness, the hunt and wild animals, and fertility. She is often associated with wild boars, bears, deer, and other animals of the forest. She is also seen with her accompanying band of nymphs.
APOLLO » The twin brother of Artemis, Apollo is the youthful god of light, archery, medicine, music, and prophecy. Sacred to him are the swan (one legend says that Apollo flew on the back of a swan to the land of the Hyperboreans where he would spend the winter months among them), the wolf, and the dolphin.
DEMETER & PERSEPHONE » Demeter was the harvest goddess, who brought forth the fruits and grains of the earth. Her daughter Persephone was the goddess of the Underworld and, consequently, of the seasons. When Hades abducted Persephone, he made her stay part of the year with him, and the other part back on earth with her mother. When she was gone, Demeter was grieved and caused no harvest (winter) and when Persephone was back on earth, Demeter was happy and caused a good harvest (summer).
FLORA » The goddess of blossoming flowers and spring. The festival of the Floralia, celebrated on April 28 -May 1, existed until the 4th century AD.
EOS » The winged goddess of dawn who flew her chariot across the sky. Her brother Helios was the sun god.
GAIA » The mother earth goddess; she was earth itself, having been born out of Chaos and gave birth to many offspring including the Titans. She blessed the world with her fertility and abundance.
NYMPHS » Usually benign and sweet spirits. Personified as young maidens that were helpful and healing, nurturing flowers, fruits, and mortals. But sometimes they could lead unsuspecting men into the water to be never seen again. The Naiads were water nymphs that dwelt beside running water. Dryads were forest nymphs which inhabited trees, nereids and oceanids were nymphs of the oceans, and Oreads dwelt in the hills and mountains. Most nymphs were free-spritied maidens who loved nature and didn’t care for marriage.
WIND GODS » Notus, the south wind; Zephyrus, the west wind and protector of plants; Boreas, the north wind; and Eurus, the east wind.

Various Deities, Spirits, & Creatures
A collection of other animal-related deities from a variety of pantheons.

Kodamas » Benign nature spirits in Shinto (Japan) that resided in forests.
Kappa » In Japanese Shinto-religion, they are water spirits who pull little children into the water and drown them, and attack and fight travelers and animals.
Tengu » Tormenting spirits from Japanese folklore. These bogeymen, with their long noses and beaks, live in mountains and forests and are especially after children.
Mokos » Goddess of the earth worshipped by the ancient Slavs.
Coatlicue » The Aztec earth goddess of life and death, mother of the gods, and mother of the stars of the southern sky.
Vanir » In Norse myth, the Vanir are originally a group of wild nature and fertility gods and goddesses, the sworn enemies of the warrior gods of the Aesir. They were considered to be the bringers of health, youth, fertility, luck and wealth, and masters of magic.
Faeries » Little folk with magical powers that often blessed newborns, but could also be mischievious and meddle in human affairs. Fairies live in the forest amongst the trees, and often protect the natural world. They can only be seen by animals and very few humans. During a full moon on Midsummer Eve, a mortal may witness fairy dances or celebrations.
Centaurs » Creatures with the body of a horse and the torso of a man. Centaurs are usually rowdy and untamed, roaming the forests and kidnapping women. They were associated with Dionysus in greek mythology.
Satyrs » In Greek mythology the satyrs are deities of the woods and mountains. They are half human and half beast; they usually have a goat’s tail, flanks and hooves. While the upper part of the body is that of a human, they also have the horns of a goat. They are the companions of Dionysus, the god of wine, and they spent their time drinking, dancing, and chasing nymphs.
Pegasus » A winged horse in greek mythology; the hero Bellerophon often rode Pegasus.
Unicorns » A legendary creature in many cultures, the unicorn is a white horse with a single spiraling horn atop its head. The horn, is said, is believed to possess healing abilities. Dust filed from the horn was thought to protect against poison, and many diseases. It could even resurrect the dead.
Dragons » Also known as wurm, wyrm, firewyrm, and firedrake, dragons are popular in many cultures. They are usually seen as giant lizard-like creatures breathing flames of fire. They hoard their gold in caves and kill anyone who goes near it.
Minotaur » This creature had the head and tail of a bull on the body of a man. It lived in a labyrinth and was sacrificed 7 young men and maidens once a year.
Hippocampus » In greek mythology, this creature resembled a horse with the hind parts of a fish or dolphin. The chariot of Poseidon was drawn by a hippocampus.
Griffon » Creature with the head, beak and wings of an eagle, the body of a lion and occasionally the tail of a serpent or scorpion. Griffon pcitures were used as gargoyles on medieval churches.

(Source: Encyclopedia Mythica)

Naturalis Historia: Volume IV

(originally written for my Evolutionary Theory class)

Evolution of Bipedalism in Hominids

“We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities… still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.”
– Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man (1871)

Humans are unique in the animal kingdom as being the only habitual terrestrial biped built for upright walking. Homo sapiens were not alone, however; a diversity of bipedal hominids thrived before us. Being adapted to bipedal movement changed the morphological structure and even behavior of these early hominids, but why did certain species make the transition to bipedal movement? There are many theories as to the origins of bipedalism and the reasons that led these hominids to walk upright. From examining the fossil record and modern primate behavior and anatomy, insights on the evolution of bipedalism can be uncovered.

Naturalis Historia: Volume III

Mythical Beasts: Monsters or Real Animals?

Throughout time, animals have made a presence in various legends as strange, mythical beasts that often were dangerous to humans. Some were man-eaters, with parts of several animals, and some were gigantic with special powers to make them menacing and hideous. Every culture had their own “monster”, the creature that lurked in the forest, lake, or cave after dark and hunted humans. But these creatures were just myths. Or were they? Maybe there was some connection between these mythical monsters and real animals.

Naturalis Historia: Volume II

Ye Animal Gods of Olde

Animals and nature have greatly influenced our myths and beliefs. From the beautiful cave paintings of our early ancestors to the myths of Greece, animals were always present. The early hominids glorified lions, bears, and deer by painting them on cave walls, some dating to 30,000 years ago. In ancient Eygpt, cats were worshipped as gods, guardians of the afterlife. Other animals, such as the stork, were symbols for their gods and goddesses. Some of their heiroglyphics were depictions of animals. In ancient Greece, their religion was filled with natural references. Nymphs were young maidens who not only lived in forests, but they were part of the forest. Nymphs and dryads were anthropomorphic symbols of nature. If someone killed a tree, then the nymph that lived in it would die as well. A current theme in greek and roman myths was people being transformed into animals. The reason varied, whether it was punishment, a curse, or their own will, but to the ancient world, animals represented the instinctive and feral side of people. In medieval Europe, there were popular stories of elves, fairies, unicorns, and dwarves. These creatures also represented the more natural side of humans. Fairies were connected with nature; to destroy nature would be to kill fairies. One type of religion I feel is common to this, is that of animism. Animism is the belief that everything has an individual spirit, like trees, rivers, rocks, animals, they all have spirits. One animistic religion, Shinto has small nature spirits called kodamas. These kodamas live in trees, but are also part of the tree. They are connected to the tree’s life. When forests were polluted or cut down, shintoists believed that the kodamas would die. All these beliefs, kodamas, fairies, sprites, or nymphs, had the similar belief that these creatures were part of nature. They were the “humans” that still believed in nature and could communicate with animals. Whether you believe fairies are real or not, the fact is, we are all connected to the natural world whether we realize or not.

Naturalis Historia: Volume I

A Natural History

Humans have been intriqued and interested in natural history all throughout time. One of the first important and thorough writings about natural history came from Ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder wrote “Naturalis Historia”, or A Natural History, in 77 AD. It was the first encyclopedia and consisted of 37 volumes. He wanted to “set forth in detail all the contents of the entire world.” With much information on geology, geography, meteorology, botany, zoology, astronomy, human physiology, and medicine, he also wrote about such mythical beasts as the basilisk as being real. Nevertheless, his work was a milestone in teaching the public about the natural world. If interested, you can find more about Pliny’s work and the Naturalis Historia text here (in Latin and English!).

Ever since 5-10 million years ago, when the first hominids began to dominate, humans have lived among animals and nature. Plants, herbs, roots, nuts, and berries were collected for food, and trees were used as shelter, much like how our primate relatives live. Early humans relied on their larger brains to think up new ideas and strategies for obtaining food. Eventually, domestication arrived. Humans learned ways of living with wolves that benefited each other so much that a new species evolved, the domestic dog. Cattle and livestock benefited humans in that it gave them a source of food without the need to travel and hunt. The livestock, therefore, were content since they were being continuously fed and cared for. A balance between humans and nature was thus established. Neither had more control or less control over the other.

Once the middle ages arrived, we tried to disassociate ourselves from nature. We were humans, afterall, not animals. Innovations in science arose during the Renaissance, which gave us new insights on astronomy, mechanics, physiology, etc. But nothing like the early writings of Aristotle or Pliny about the natural world. The industrial revolution came with a bang. All of a sudden we humans controlled the world. Factories, machines, technology; all to do everything for us. Humans were separated from nature. We no longer felt like we were part of mother earth. We forgot.

A truly remarkable thing happened in the 19th century. A naturalist named Charles Darwin wrote a book called The Descent of Man in 1871. He proposed, well actually, had evidence for the fact that all living creatures were descedants of a common ancestor. Maybe we weren’t so far from nature as we thought. In the years that followed, new research and knowledge in zoology led scientists to discover that animals aren’t so different from us. They think, have emotions, raise families. Zoologists began classifying species based common characteristics and ancestry. Humans also are classified, as part of the hominid family along with chimpanzees (our closest relative), bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. Genetics has played a large role in finding so many similarities between humans and chimps that our DNA is 98% the same. Perhaps we are still that wild primate that lives in the forest.

Naturalis Historia: Intro

My thoughts and essays on the natural world.

Posts under this category: my various writings and essays on the natural world relating to zoology, anthropology, genetics, or just nature in general.

The title “Naturalis Historia” comes from Pliny the Elder’s extensive encyclopedia of the natural world written in 77 A.D.

Greetings.

Welcome to Patronus Naturae: my thoughts and essays on the natural world.

Here lies my various writings on the natural world relating to zoology, anthropology, evolution, genetics, or just nature in general.