Re: Not Enough Data

claudiusdenk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

It's not that we claim in Homo erectus a priori the ability to dispose of
the dead by deliberate burial or the ability to cultivate crops, but
in the absence of evidence the default hypothesis (to be falsified)
should be that they did. If you dispose of the requirement for
evidence, what remains of the science?

It's not that we deny Homo erectus a priori the ability to build
concrete sky scrapers with high speed elevators or use rocket
technology to fly to the moon,

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Gerrit! Of all people. Leave the straw in the barn
for the horses to sleep on.

One can make all kinds of wild speculation on the basis of a lack of
evidence. That's not the privilege of Crowley and McGinn. Let me have
a go at it for a change.

but in the absence of evidence the
default hypothesis (to be falsified) should be that they didn't.

Well, gee golly, Gerrit. I must say that I too have no expectation
that some archeologists might someday uncover evidence of a homo
erectus space program. (Neanderthals on the other hand . . .)

I'm serious Jim. Homo erectus did not go extinct. They left the
planet. Ask Ed Conrad and he'll set up a seance with Velikovsky for
you.

If you dispose of the requirement for evidence, what remains of the
science?

Science tells us to not let the evidence dictate conclusions. (IOW,
don't let the evidence lead you by the nose.)

Ultimately evidence is the answer to the questions posed by hypotheses
(for example (simplified): was A. afarensis a biped? Answer: yes.
Evidence: anatomy of postcranial fossil material and fossil
footprints). In that sense the evidence does dictate conclusions.

Indeed, there is hard evidence that hominids manufactured stone tools
as early as 2.5 mya and that is quite compatible with a
hunter-gatherer kind of lifestyle, the default for nonsedentary
people. There is no indication that Homo erectus sites were occupied
for more than a season, and that isn't good enough to reap the
benefits of cultivation (sow, tend, harvest, store).

Indeed, there is hard evidence that hominids manufactured stone tools
as early as 2.5 mya and that is quite compatible with some plant
cultivation, the default for a sedentary people. No Homo erectus
residential sites have been identified, but that is no reason to assume
their absence.

Innocent until proven guilty.

Uhrr. Don't you got it backwards?

No.

Basically that's also how it works in
science. The negative state has priority until positive evidence
shifts the balance to the other side.

Hmmm. And who gets to decide which state is negative and which is
positive?

That's rather simple: absence is negative, presence is positive.
Thus, until we find evidence of graves associated with Homo erectus,
we may assume that they didn't bury their dead (negative state).
They may have, but there's not even any evidence to make them suspect.

Gerrit
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Not Enough Data
    ... in the absence of evidence the default hypothesis ... It's not that we deny Homo erectus a priori the ability to build ... benefits of cultivation. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Not Enough Data
    ... Gerrit Hanenburg wrote: ... in the absence of evidence the default hypothesis ... weapons at 2.5 mya would also understand the basics of cultivation. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Mitochondrial Eve a fact?
    ... Homo erectus to Homo sapiens sapiens. ... strongly supports the alternative that modern humans arose in Africa ... populations, but we don't see evidence of it in the maternal ... but have to admit the mDNA evidence is strong evidence ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Venomous Vegetables
    ... > progress, as it is now, was very fast. ... > Homo erectus couldn't. ... have any evidence to support your claim that they could not talk. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Development of agriculture in South America
    ... In Science 316, 1890, 2007 evidence is given of rather early traces of ... cultivation was thought to be near 5000 BP. ... has confirmed that plant domestication in the Americas ... The history of maize is one of the most debated topics ...
    (sci.archaeology)