<story><title>Child&apos;s burial 78k years ago in Kenya was a Homo sapiens milestone</title><url>https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/childs-burial-78000-years-ago-kenya-was-homo-sapiens-milestone-2021-05-05/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>stareatgoats</author><text>Interesting as this is, the article nurtures an old misconception (with roots both in religion and classical philosophy) that there are some traits that distinctly separates humans from other animals, and by extension, finding the time when humans developed that trait is when we became truly humans. In reality the evidence reveals that all such traits, be it burial, toolmaking, artistry, abstract thinking etc, is something we share with other species to varying degrees. To the extent we have any unique such traits currently that radically sets us apart from other species then it has been a long and gradual process over eons.&lt;p&gt;In the case of burials, this old misconception places a ridiculously high bar on proof that other species revere their dead. Case in point being that of Homo Naledi, admittedly a Homo but not a human by a long shot that clearly practiced burials in inaccessible cave structures. [0]&lt;p&gt;[0] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;humangenesis.org&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;05&amp;#x2F;18&amp;#x2F;did-homo-naledi-bury-its-dead&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;humangenesis.org&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;05&amp;#x2F;18&amp;#x2F;did-homo-naledi-bury-its...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>logicchop</author><text>&amp;quot;an old misconception (with roots both in religion and classical philosophy)&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;There is also a new misconception (with no real roots except egalitarianism taken too far) that everything is the same as everything else &amp;quot;to varying degrees.&amp;quot; That isn&amp;#x27;t very interesting though. I live in the US. To &amp;quot;some varying degree&amp;quot; I live on the east coast; but that degree is nil because I live far west of the mississippi. Human language, use of tools, artistry etc. are so massively remote from the animal cases that it&amp;#x27;s worth labelling it a &amp;quot;distinction&amp;quot; and not a &amp;quot;difference.&amp;quot;</text></comment>
<story><title>Child&apos;s burial 78k years ago in Kenya was a Homo sapiens milestone</title><url>https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/childs-burial-78000-years-ago-kenya-was-homo-sapiens-milestone-2021-05-05/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>stareatgoats</author><text>Interesting as this is, the article nurtures an old misconception (with roots both in religion and classical philosophy) that there are some traits that distinctly separates humans from other animals, and by extension, finding the time when humans developed that trait is when we became truly humans. In reality the evidence reveals that all such traits, be it burial, toolmaking, artistry, abstract thinking etc, is something we share with other species to varying degrees. To the extent we have any unique such traits currently that radically sets us apart from other species then it has been a long and gradual process over eons.&lt;p&gt;In the case of burials, this old misconception places a ridiculously high bar on proof that other species revere their dead. Case in point being that of Homo Naledi, admittedly a Homo but not a human by a long shot that clearly practiced burials in inaccessible cave structures. [0]&lt;p&gt;[0] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;humangenesis.org&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;05&amp;#x2F;18&amp;#x2F;did-homo-naledi-bury-its-dead&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;humangenesis.org&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;05&amp;#x2F;18&amp;#x2F;did-homo-naledi-bury-its...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ekianjo</author><text>&amp;gt; evidence reveals that all such traits, be it burial, toolmaking, artistry, abstract thinking etc, is something we share with other species to varying degrees&lt;p&gt;If actual achievements speak louder than words, then &amp;quot;varying degrees&amp;quot; is a huge gap between human and other species. Yes, we know that numerous animals exhibit intelligence and emotions, but that does not change the fact that humans are very different when it comes to the understanding of time and everything that goes with it. Also, there is no other animal out there who domesticated fire or developed some kind of societal system to expands its own resources beyond what&amp;#x27;s available in the wild.</text></comment>