The scarred face of ancient man: Incredible reconstruction of a 28,000-year-old Homo sapiens reveals he was covered in TUMOURS article review

The scarred face of ancient man: Incredible reconstruction of a 28,000-year-old Homo sapiens reveals he was covered in TUMOURS article review

Summary

The article to be reviewed is published in Mail Online, a subsidiary entity of DMG media. It was written by Ellie Zolfagharifard on 31st of March 2018. The title of the article is “The scarred face of ancient man: Incredible reconstruction of a 28,000-year-old Homo sapiens reveals he was covered in TUMOURS.” The author attempts to convey two different messages. The discovery of an anatomically modern human in the Ezies cave, Dordogne Region in, France and the disease the homo sapien was suffering from. The skeleton of the man, Cro-Magnon 1, was found together with three others in 1868. Nonetheless, a conclusion of his body status was provided by researchers in France, spearheaded by Philippe Charier, an anthropologist. They re-examined the remains as a symbol of marking 150 years since the bones were discovered. The study is significant as it shows the way of life- the tools they use to carry out their work and where they used to live- of this group and their relation to modern humans.

Part I

The author establishes multiple claims. Foremost, he declares that the researchers found Cro-Magnon to have had benign tumors with the root cause being a genetic condition termed as neurofibromatosis. He says that the skeleton of this group belongs to the species of homo sapiens and is one of the first fossils to be classified into this category. Lastly, he claims that these ancient people had a tough life and relied on stones for habitation and tools.

Part II

The researchers provide numerous pieces of evidence to back up their notion of tumours. In the forehead of Cro-Magnon 1, the skull is eroded, which is a sign of neurofibroma. Also, the ear canal is damaged that is highly linked with the growth of the tumour. On carrying a visual forensic reconstruction, his face is filled with tumours and nodules- clustered, especially at the eyes, nose and mouth. The man is categorised as an anatomically modern human because he was around five-foot-tall, had a straight forehead, prominent chin and short and broad face. Comparing this man with the other archaic humans, he is better fit to be an anatomically modern human because he had a brain capacity of 100 cubic inches, which is similar to the one of modern humans, though slightly larger. The hard life is evident from the fused neck vertebras that signify traumatic injury. Additionally, the skull of the female had a fracture. The bones of these archaic humans, together with their tools, were found in the caves. In the researchers’ deductions, they declare that they lived deep in the caves and built huts purely from stones. The tools were also made from stones, and the author provides an image with three of the stone pieces of equipment, which is obtained from Didier Descouens.

According to reports, investigations of archaeological fields are divided into three phases. The first phase (identification), governs and surveys the presence of an archaeological site. The second phase (evaluation), determines the cultural and historically significant of the materials in phase one. Whereas in the third phase, data recovery and formal writing of reports are involved (Wallace et al., 2016). From the article, it is clear that they continued to govern and survey the area, due to that the subsequent year, three other skeletons were found. The author clearly highlights the significance of the finds. Historically, Cro-Magnon was dated 28,000 years ago, whereas for the others, it was between 10000 and 35,000. He makes the audience to understand the meaning of the lesion in the forehead and damage to the left year component. The culture of these ancient people is depicted as being highly intellectual, which is evident from the high capacity of the brain around 1600cc and the excellent tools that they used like end scrapers and fine bone tools. Philipe’s team write a research report of their work and further state they will publish it to a medical journal, The Lancet. The author concisely delivers the shreds of evidence of the claims and reflects on the three phases for an archaeological investigation. Generally, these approaches enhance the understanding process.

Part III

The scientific evidence provided in the article is reliable. The people who carried out the research are professionals. For instance, Philipe Charlier, who leads the investigation, is a paleo pathologist and forensic pathologist. Also, he and his colleagues wrote a report which is peer-reviewed and is published in the science direct and Lancet journals. The research incorporates diverse scientific processes to reach the conclusion of the disease. That is, they use a visual reconstruction mechanism and their knowledge of bone diagnosis. In classifying of these finds to the anatomically modern humans, they carry studies to several skeletons. The Cro-Magnon man is seen to have lived 28,000 years ago. Similarly, the other skeletons found alongside Cro-Magnon 1 were between 10,000 – 35,000 years old. Overall, this made the researcher believe that this population lived around 45,000 years ago.

Part IV

A substantial part of the article is obtained from the research team of Charlier, who is quoted severally. His quotes appear throughout the paper whereby he gives the signs of neurofibroma –lesion at the forehead, and destruction of the ear canal – and finally gives is a conclusion, neurofibromatosis, to the Agence France Presse (AFP), a transnational body headquartered in Paris that deals with news. Using of a quote in articles is beneficial. Readers get the ideas that were presented, and it makes the article to be lively. Moreover, it reduces the risks of errors or misreporting on the part of the author. In turn, increasing the reliability and credibility of the article.

Part V

A scientific claim is a statement that offers results of an experiment defended by evidence that is obtained during the investigation. Then gives reasoning that shows the relationship between the evidence and the claim. The author claims several items regarding the Cro-Magnons; for example, the disease Cro-Magnon 1 was suffering from, and groups them as homo sapiens. He subsequently provides the reasoning by using evidence to support the claims. However, when analysing the verdict in terms of scientific credibility, it will have a neutral score. Although it is accurate, correct, and conveys the relevant element of context, it fails to offer in-depth background information. It is because, in comparing it with the report published at Lancet by Charlier et al. (2018), there are details it leaves out. In the report, the lesion is a round polycyclic and osteolytic, and its locality is in the right frontal bone. It measures 27mm by 27 mm, but the size is affected by factors like soil, actinomycosis and rickets.