Mankind has often been accused of being much older than suspected by most scientists. There are all sorts of theories and speculation about where man originated. Some claim we travelled from the stars thousands of years ago and were “planted” on Earth by aliens as part of a cultural experiment, so science fiction writers speculate we might be food!
There are certainly numerous remains of ancient civilizations scattered around the globe, from the Far East through the great Pyramids of Egypt to hidden remains in the South American jungle. Rumours of even older cultures such as Atlantis and Lemuria are common. Man has certainly existed for a long time, but how long?
The Catholic Church once set the date at about 14,000 age. Archaeologists at one time put us at about 1 million years on the planet, then new finds in Africa moved that time line back to about 4 million years. Can it be pushed back even further? How old might mankind really be? Recent discoveries indicate that ancestors of man have been around at least 47 million years!
That is correct, 47 million years on the planet! and these skeleton remains seem very well accepted by the scientific community. They show characteristics and structure only found in humans. Not just primates, but mankind. If these fossils and the dating techniques are accurate, man has been around much longer than anybody suspected (except a few of those science fiction writers)., but was it truly man?
The skeleton appears to be from a young child with both juvenile and adult teeth, indicating just going through puberty and was about 3 feet tall. A bit small for modern man but not outside parameters seen today. It had a vestigial tail, but some children are born with tails even in the 21st Century!
Why are there no more remains around? They may have lived in a remote area where fossils didn’t easily form. The skeletons may also have been confused or mixed with others. Ida was whole, and that is amazing! Were her ancestors responsible for many of the mysteries found around the world today? Did they travel and wander around the globe, building vast civilizations? That we may never know!
It is always possible that Ida’s ancestors died off and man re-evolved just a few million years ago, but not likely. Mankind does indeed appear to be millions of years older than once suspected! Will he be around a few more million? Only time will tell.
