2008 Woodie Awards
Visiting Professors Discusses Evolution
Diana Scholz: for the Muleskinner
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: News
Erosion and environmental changes have unearthed one- to two-million-year-old fossils in the Sangiran Dome in Central Java. Studying early human fossils gives scientists a better understanding of how humans have adapted to environmental and climate changes.
Arthur Bettis, assistant professor at the University of Iowa in the Department of Geosciences, spoke Friday, March 28 at the University of Central Missouri. His speech, "Way Out of Africa: Environments and Adaptations of the Earliest Humans," focused on early human evolution in Southeast Asia.
Located southeast of Asia, Java is a large agricultural island formed by volcanoes. It is this volcanic activity that makes the Sangiran Dome a prime area for discovering early human fossils in their original environmental context.
Bettis has been reconstructing the environment of early humans for the last seven years. Most of his research is conducted in Java, but he has also traveled to such places as Argentina, Chile and Africa. His main focus is to interpret ancient sediments and soils that early humans once walked on. These studies give scientists perspective on how humans have adapted.
"We study early humans to get a broader understanding of how they lived," Bettis said. "They had no language, no culture and no fire. They were scavengers."
Bettis said that his most fascinating discovery has been a stegadon. Stegadons are the precursors to elephants and they roamed the earth, along with humans, 1.5 million years ago.
The local landowner unearthed the skeleton and sold it to a museum for an undisclosed amount.
Having written his thesis on a typewriter and punch cards, Bettis said there have been some astonishing changes since he entered paleontology. He pointed out that the creation of modern technology has enabled scientists to keep track of information and locate prime searching areas.
Bettis advised students interested in the field of paleontology to learn as much as they can, to keep an open mind and to have an appreciation for the outdoors.
Adel (Eddie) Haj, assistant professor of earth science at UCM, is a former student of Bettis'. Haj studied alongside Bettis in Argentina in 2004 and is excited to have him speak at UCM.
Wil Sears, junior nursing major, found the seminar fascinating.
"[I] always wondered how they can dig through all that dirt and find so much information," Sears said.
Curiosity is what brought Tara Bowler, junior biology major, to the seminar.
"I found the carbon testing process very interesting," Bowler said. "I even enjoyed learning about how the early humans adapted to the environment."
The departments of biology and earth science and history and anthropology sponsored Bettis' visit.
Arthur Bettis, assistant professor at the University of Iowa in the Department of Geosciences, spoke Friday, March 28 at the University of Central Missouri. His speech, "Way Out of Africa: Environments and Adaptations of the Earliest Humans," focused on early human evolution in Southeast Asia.
Located southeast of Asia, Java is a large agricultural island formed by volcanoes. It is this volcanic activity that makes the Sangiran Dome a prime area for discovering early human fossils in their original environmental context.
Bettis has been reconstructing the environment of early humans for the last seven years. Most of his research is conducted in Java, but he has also traveled to such places as Argentina, Chile and Africa. His main focus is to interpret ancient sediments and soils that early humans once walked on. These studies give scientists perspective on how humans have adapted.
"We study early humans to get a broader understanding of how they lived," Bettis said. "They had no language, no culture and no fire. They were scavengers."
Bettis said that his most fascinating discovery has been a stegadon. Stegadons are the precursors to elephants and they roamed the earth, along with humans, 1.5 million years ago.
The local landowner unearthed the skeleton and sold it to a museum for an undisclosed amount.
Having written his thesis on a typewriter and punch cards, Bettis said there have been some astonishing changes since he entered paleontology. He pointed out that the creation of modern technology has enabled scientists to keep track of information and locate prime searching areas.
Bettis advised students interested in the field of paleontology to learn as much as they can, to keep an open mind and to have an appreciation for the outdoors.
Adel (Eddie) Haj, assistant professor of earth science at UCM, is a former student of Bettis'. Haj studied alongside Bettis in Argentina in 2004 and is excited to have him speak at UCM.
Wil Sears, junior nursing major, found the seminar fascinating.
"[I] always wondered how they can dig through all that dirt and find so much information," Sears said.
Curiosity is what brought Tara Bowler, junior biology major, to the seminar.
"I found the carbon testing process very interesting," Bowler said. "I even enjoyed learning about how the early humans adapted to the environment."
The departments of biology and earth science and history and anthropology sponsored Bettis' visit.
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