io9: skulls

Reseachers Say "Hobbit" People Were Not Human

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:44:48 PST

Several years ago, a group of intriguing, ancient fossils were uncovered: Their bodies and skulls looked human, but they were incredibly tiny. Scientists named them Homo floresiensis, and the popular press called them Hobbits.

Now a group of American researchers says they've examined one of the Hobbit skulls in minute detail, and they are certain that the creatures were not human. Said lead researcher Karen Baab:

A skull can provide researchers with a lot of important information about a fossil species, particularly regarding their evolutionary relationships to other fossil species. The overall shape of the LB1 skull, particularly the part that surrounds the brain (neurocranium) looks similar to fossils more than 1.5 million years older from Africa and Eurasia, rather than modern humans, even though Homo floresiensis is documented from 17,000 to 95,000 years ago.

That means Homo floresiensis evolved alongside Homo sapiens, perhaps out of a common ancestor like Homo erectus. So the new species may have been an evolutionary dead end. Perhaps, like Neanderthals, the Hobbits couldn't compete with the taller Homo sapiens for food and resources.

Baab and her team determined that the species was not human by minutely examining the skull. This is a widely-accepted method of determining hominid species, but it's crucial to remember it's not the only way. As of yet, nobody has tried to sequence the DNA remaining in these fossils, the way the Max Planck Institute is doing with Neanderthal DNA. So before we start jumping up and down at the idea of another hominid species that walked Earth, let's see if we can get some genetic evidence too.

SOURCES:

Hobbit Skull Study via Science Daily

Neanderthal DNA Being Sequenced via New Scientist

Wellness Skull Is a Sauna of Death

Lisa Katayama — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:40:00 PDT

From the same guys that created the SlaveCity dystopia comes a cool alternative to the warmly lit, lavender-scented spa of the present—a giant skull with separate compartments for all your relaxation needs. The Wellness Skull houses a bath in its neck, a sauna in the head, and hot steam spouts at the eye sockets. There's no pretentious receptionist or wind-chime music to help you chill out—stepping into the skull will instantly take away the worries of contemporary society and fill you with thoughts of life, death, and the emptiness of our physical selves. It's like an instant dose of existential meditation. Atelier van Lieshout main page

A Camera Made of Blood and Copper

Lisa Katayama — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:19:11 PDT

Wayne Martin Belger is a freaky pinhole photographer who makes cameras out of titanium, brass, wood, glass, human skulls, human organs, formaldehyde, HIV positive blood, and other relics that are tools of what he calls "the horrors of creation and the beauty of decay." Pictured above is a creation of his called The Untouchable, a 4x5 inch camera made of aluminum, copper, titanium, acrylic, and HIV positive blood. The blood acts as a red filter by pumping through the camera to the front of the pinhole.

Belger's cameras serve a greater function than just taking photographs; in fact, they are always part of the bigger picture. Each of his cameras has a destiny. For example, this one is destined to document a geographic comparison of people with HIV. We think he's onto something—photography of the future may very well warrant a deeper connection with its subjects.

Keep reading for a couple more examples.

This one's called the 9/11 Camera, designed to capture images of religious figures. It's another 4x5 camera, made of T6 aircraft aluminum, plus pages from the Bible, the Koran, and the Torah. The piece of metal with the pinhole that you see in the front is part of a support beam that was holding up the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

The Third Eye Camera is made with a 150 year old skull of a 13 year old girl, and intended to photograph the beauty of decay. He drilled a hole in her third eye for two reasons: as a medium for film exposure, and as a symbolic way of letting light and time into her head. Morbid? Maybe, but to pay his respects, he embedded pieces of silver with gemstones into her forehead. Images by Wayne Martin Belger

Boy of Blue Industries via Notcot