A bright, shiny, new fact

Homo Erectus: sailor?

From McClatchy today:

RALEIGH, N.C. — Early manlike creatures may have been smarter than we think. Recent archaeological finds from the Mediterranean show that human ancestors traveled the high seas.

The article reports that one of humanity's precursors, Homo Erectus, was able to cross open waters 130,000 years ago. That's 100,000 years earlier than was thought possible. It's a great image, isn't it? Non-humans piloting a raft or other type of craft. I love it. Here's a quote from one of the researchers:

"The thing to me that really makes this unique and exciting is ... these other sister species maybe weren't entirely stupid like we portray them," Wegmann said. "They were capable of really complex things.

That sound you hear is wingnut heads exploding. Fun!