Indian stone tools could dramatically push back date when modern humans first left Africa

We are all children of Africa. As members of the hominin species Homo sapiens, you and I are the product of millions of years of shared evolutionary history of life on Earth. But as a species we are relatively recent, emerging between 400,000 and 300,000 years ago in East Africa from indigenous archaic populations.

Currently, some of the biggest questions facing palaeoanthropology involve trying to work out how and when early humans left the continent. Was it a single dispersal? Or multiple? A recent discovery of a jawbone fossil in Israel suggests that there could have been a migration as early as about 180,000 years ago. But a new study, published in the journal Nature, suggests early humans may have left Africa much earlier than that.

The new research reports the discovery of tools from the Middle Palaeolithic (200,000 to 40,000 years ago) in Tamil Nadu, India. Surprisingly, the tools date back to 385,000 years ago – which is around the same time as this technology is thought to have first developed by archaic or possibly modern humans in Africa. This challenges the view, backed by most researchers, that modern humans brought these technologies to India less than 140,000 years ago.

Attirampakkam site
Attirampakkam is located on the banks of a stream of the Kortallaiyar River in northeast Tamil Nadu. Excavations by a team of Indian researchers revealed abundant layers of stone tools trapped within sediments deposited by streams which ran through the area in prehistory. The site appears to have been sporadically occupied by apes and early hominins predating Homo sapiens from as far back as 1.7m years ago.

Using a dating technique called infrared-stimulated luminescence – which pinpoints the last time that sediment grains were exposed to light – the authors determined that the silts and gravels which contain the tools date to between 385,000 and 172,000 years ago. These tools chart the transition from the Acheulean handaxe culture, created by archaic humans of the Lower Palaeolithic, to smaller tools. The latter were produced by a more sophisticated technique called Levallois – involving the production of stone points and blades.

The tools push the date back for the origins of Middle Palaeolithic technology in India. Previous studies have suggested that this occurred between 140,000 years and 46,000 years ago, possibly as Homo sapiens migrated into the subcontinent.

Middle Palaeolithic artefact. 

But what is perhaps more important, is what these dates mean for the emergence of Homo sapiens and our species’ migrations into the rest of the Old World. And to understand those implications we need to consider fossils from North Africa and how they are associated with hominin species and technology.

Modern humans
African Middle Stone Age technologies, which first emerged around 400,000 years ago, have been documented as developing out of Earlier Stone Age cultures at sites such as Kapthurin (Kenya), Kathu Pan (South Africa), and the Cave of Hearths at Makapansgat (South Africa). The latter site, in particular, mirrors the transition from Acheulean to Levallois technologies seen at Attirampakkam quite nicely, but is associated with archaic rather than modern human fossils.

Some typical artefacts from Attirampakkam. 

Recent work at the cave site of Jebel Irhoud in Morocco, has discovered fossils of Homo sapiens and Middle Stone Age tools together – dating to about 315,000 years ago. The research suggests that the emergence of our own species was a pan-African evolutionary process, and one implicitly associated with the development of indigenous Middle Stone Age technologies.

Implications for human migration
The new findings could mean that archaic humans in India developed such technology all on their own, which some researchers have previously suggested. However, it could also mean that modern humans left Africa much earlier than recent archaeological and palaeontological evidence on Africa’s doorstep suggests. In fact, they could have left Africa shortly after evolving, making it as far as the east coast of India in perhaps a few tens of thousands of years.

Further work at Attirampakkam may allow us to test these competing models, but we have to bear in mind that the association between technology and biology is not simple. Unfortunately, I do think we need to find a smoking gun – in this case, a hominin fossil – to find out for sure .

Elsewhere in this time frame, the cave site of Rising Star in South Africa has provided strong evidence of the primitive hominin Homo naledi engaging in ritual mortuary practices and deliberate disposal of their dead. Such archaeological behaviours have traditionally been associated with more advanced hominins and modern Homo sapiens.

In the archaeological record, sometimes biology and culture do not line up. The best way to resolve this? Dig! Archaeologists and palaeoanthropologists need to get out into the blank spaces on the map and explore, excavate … and publish.

(Source: The Conservation)

How Malayalam actor Parvathy is steering conversations around cinema in new directions

How do you spot a shape-shifter? It would have been easy to recognise the determined, despairing face of the nurse Sameera, wrapped in a head scarf, in bombed-out Tikrit in the Malayalam film Take-Off.

It would have been easy to identify the independent, charming Jaya on a road trip in the Hindi film Qarib Qarib Singlle. But how do you find Parvathy, the 29-year-old, who played these parts? At a restaurant in Ooty, a picturesque hill station in Tamil Nadu, where she is shooting her next film, you cannot instantly pick out the woman in a grey pullover, comfortable check slacks and a shawl carelessly thrown around her as the actor you are looking for. You have to eventually go by the outsized spectacles without which she is rarely seen off-screen: the spectacles that hide her face and identify her.

Parvathy, who won the Silver Peacock for Best Actor (Female) at the IFFI, for her role in Take-Off, is a veritable chameleon: she looks and performs differently in almost all the roles she has done in her 12 years in cinema. 

Parvathy, who won the Silver Peacock for Best Actor (Female) at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), for her role in Take-Off, is a veritable chameleon: she looks and performs differently in almost all the roles she has done in her 12 years in cinema. She is delighted when she hears that. "Of course, the credit goes to the make-up artistes as well, but I get a kick out of hearing that," she says.

She does not want to be known for a particular feature of hers, she says. "How else would you suspend disbelief when you watch one of my films? That will be counter-productive to what I do as an artist." No wonder her Twitter bio says: "Actor. Feminist. Shapeshifter."

I am meeting her two months after she became the first Malayalam actor to win the top honours at IFFI. Exactly a fortnight after that memorable evening in Goa, she was at a panel discussion on "Women in Cinema" at the International Film Festival of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram. She said she was disappointed with the misogynistic dialogues of an "actor par excellence" in a Malayalam film — she refrained from saying the actor's name (Mammootty, the superstar) but she named the film (Kasaba).

That was enough for her to become the target of vicious online harassment. Fans of Mammootty trolled her for days, using sexually coloured abuses, issuing rape threats and death threats. She recalls in chilling detail one of the horrifying messages she got on social media: "He described how many men would rape me, how they would rape me and asked me my 'size', so they could be prepared. And he's 20 years old. Imagine how many 20-year-olds there are in our country who think it's all right to do this." It divided Kerala down the middle: those who stood by her and against her. Apologise to Mammootty, many hollered. Parvathy did not. "I cannot imagine apologising," says Parvathy. "Cinema is very important to me. I derive a lot of strength from this art form and I believe that it is very impactful socio-politically. When my work reaches people, if they like my work, they would support it. And I am grateful for that. Apart from that, I don't want them to like me, glorify me, or celebrate me," says Parvathy.

This in an industry where superstars — all men, incidentally — are propped up by countless fans' associations. She defines her relationship with the audience as "a very straightforward" one. "I have committed myself to giving quality work. It has nothing to do with the freedom to express my opinions about issues around us. I reserve the right to be a participating citizen and artist."

To those who trolled her, she sent a tweet: a beautifully embroidered image of a hand with a pointed finger. Below that was "OMKV", an acronym for a Malayalam cussword which roughly translates into, "Run off, you a**hole." She was appropriating a swear word liberally used in Malayali male circles and throwing it right back at them. Offline, she filed a police complaint.

While Hollywood was in an uproar over allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein and others, Kerala was witnessing its own #ItsTime moment.

Parvathy's response was of a piece with other choices she has made. Three years ago, she told people not to tag the caste surname Menon to her name. The unconventional actor, who is changing even the way conversations are made about cinema, has had a rather conventional background. The daughter of a public sector bank officer and a lawyer, Parvathy has had a middle-class upbringing, with hardly any connection to the world of cinema.

"We are not at all the kind of people you would think would send their daughter to the film industry," says her mother Usha Kumari. "In fact, we hardly watched that many movies," her father Vinod Kumar chips in, while they wait for Parvathy to finish a shot in Ooty.

They don't usually accompany her on set but this time, they have decided to visit her from their home in Kozhikode, Kerala. It was a part-time gig as a TV anchor and a win in a local beauty contest that led Parvathy to her debut film Out of Syllabus in 2006. But it was an acting workshop later that year — as part of her second film, Notebook — that really drew her into the world of cinema.

She was selective about her roles, even then, even when it meant going without work for over a year-and-a-half and a dwindling bank balance. "Then I got selected for the Tamil film Maryan (opposite Dhanush) and the advance helped me tide over a few more months. That period of my career made me realise that I truly couldn't compromise on work just for survival," she recalls.

Film critic Neelima Menon, who runs the film website www.fullpicture.in, says, "Parvathy is capable of carrying a film on her shoulders, like Take-Off. The film worked because of her. She seems to be extremely choosy and, from recent controversies, it is clear that she wouldn't do the usual hero-worshipping films. It's rare to see a heroine like that in Malayalam cinema today."

"I Am Not Going Anywhere" In the aftermath of the comments she had made about Mammootty's film, Parvathy says she was told there would now be a lobby against her in the industry and that she would not get work. "But am I going to leave? This has been my home for 12 years and the industry is as much mine as anybody else's. I came in on my own accord, stayed through by hard work and will power — so I'll still make films. There will be obstacles, but I am not going anywhere."

Nor did she intend to fly under the radar, after speaking out. "I was advised to lie low, but I said I don't want to lie low and get work. If I don't get work, I'll create it." The recent incidents, she says, have only strengthened her resolve to make films, through production and direction.

The attacks on Parvathy in December 2017 marked the end of a turbulent year for Malayalam cinema. It was a year in which a wellknown actor was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Shockingly, one of the most popular male actors, Dileep, was arrested in the case. Worse, many stalwarts of the industry expressed support for the accused and cast aspersions on the survivor. It was also a year in which women in the film industry came together to voice their rights and formed Women in Cinema Collective.

"What Parvathy said became controversial because she took a position that was challenging patriarchal values. The film or actor she was talking about was incidental; it is the stand she took, which challenges our value system, that matters," says Deedi Damodaran, a founding-member of the collective. While trolls attacking women is not new, many were taken aback to see it happening in Kerala, a state considered to be relatively progressive.

Damodaran, the first woman scriptwriter in Malayalam cinema, says the term progressive has to be used within inverted commas.

"We are talking about a progressive class that is only half of Kerala. We don't talk about the other half. The wives of these so-called progressive men will be at home cooking dinner, while they are out attending film festivals."

Film editor Bina Paul says: "While women are becoming more aware of their role and expressing their points of view, society is not able to comprehend this change. This has a lot to do with Kerala's middle-class society, where people want the status quo to remain. This is what causes friction." And this friction spills over into films.

Fan clubs, a phenomenon relatively new to Kerala, had a significant part to play in the backlash against Parvathy and the actor who was assaulted, says writer NS Madhavan. The growth of these clubs was closely connected to the trend of Malayalam films glorifying the male hero, mainly Mammootty and Mohanlal, which began in the 1990s. "The misogyny seems to be confined to these fans. There is a great disconnect between people online and those whom I talk to offline, who are all sympathetic to Parvathy and the actor who was assaulted," he adds. Nithin Renji Panicker, director of Kasaba, the film whose misogyny Parvathy had called out, says he does not think Parvathy's comments merit a response.

If he has to make the film all over again, he won't change a thing. "For those who make commercial films, it is about what sells," says Panicker, 30, whose father, Renji Panicker, is well-known for directing a series of hero-oriented, macho, action films in the 1990s. But what about the vicious online attack on Parvathy? "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. People have the right to express themselves positively or negatively," he says, conceding only when asked pointedly that issuing death threats was "not good".

While his fans abused Parvathy, Mammootty did not intervene for weeks, finally telling a journalist that he had not appointed anyone to speak on his behalf, but stopping short of an outright condemnation of his fans. Says Parvathy: "I cannot really say I was completely satisfied (with what Mammootty said) but I am happy he spoke up. When I messaged him, he said he was used to such things. It was a different matter that by then, it had reached a level where it was no longer about me or him. It was about everyone," says Parvathy.

She says she will continue to challenge misogyny. While she admits there is a lot to learn, she is also conscious about using her influence to bring about change. "I've realised that unless and until something happens to you, you don't really get down to doing anything much about it. Then, you can either go away into oblivion because you would rather be in that comforting space or you can't go back to it ever again because you are too awake. The latter is what happened to me."

(Source: ET)

Sales apprentice buys her own home aged just 20 after working five jobs

Jennie Crockart, 21, credits success to hard work and decision to leave school early

A financially-savvy young woman managed to buy her first home with no help at the age of just 20 - and credits leaving school at 17 to pursue an apprenticeship.

Remarkable Jennie Crockart, now 21, began saving money from the age of just 16, by which point she was working five part-time jobs alongside studying for AS Levels.

By 17, Jennie decided to leave school to pursue her dream of becoming a salesperson - and was quickly able to save up to £500 a month from her apprenticeship.

And just after her 20th birthday, the proud young woman picked up the keys to her very own £120,000 two-bedroom apartment in Yate near Bristol.

Jennie, a Level 3 Advanced Sales apprentice at commercial furnishings company Furnished Homes in Yate, said: “Owning my own home has always been important to me.

“In my opinion, when you're renting, you are just paying someone else's mortgage.

“At 20, I'm in the fortunate position of having no debt, and I've become a homeowner at a time when many young people are struggling to get on the property ladder.”

Jennie added that financial independence was hard-wired into her from a young age.

“Growing up, my parents didn't have lots of spare money but they always told me that when I had my own job I could afford to buy whatever I liked,” she said.

By 16, ambitious Jennie was working five part-time jobs, as a cleaner, a waitress, a cafe manager, a gym assistant and in business development, all whilst working towards her AS Levels.

She said: “As soon as I started earning I started putting £50 aside here and there - or more if I could manage it.

“I didn't have a career plan or want to go to university, as my main goal was to become a salesperson or work in the business sector.

“I knew that I enjoyed sales and the confidence you feel when you're doing well, and I knew that I didn't need a degree to prove I could sell.”

At 17, Jennie made the tough decision to leave school before her A-Levels, and enrolled on a sales apprenticeship scheme with Furnished Homes.

And success came quickly, with the young apprentice generating £500,000 in new business during her first three years.

She said: “At 17, it was a great way to start out. It's a brilliant way to start a career in sales.

“At that point I started saving a lot more, around £500 per month. I also saw my bonuses as just that - a bonus - so I put the money away.

“My savings quickly started to mount up.”

At 18, Jennie sat down with a mortgage consultant for the first time to get an idea of what she could borrow and the sort of deposit she would need to buy her first home.

And by 19, she found a home she wanted to buy and put all her efforts into raising the remainder of her ten per cent deposit.

She said: “It was 'eyes on the prize'. Admittedly at that point I didn't go out that much - but I certainly don't feel like I've missed out on anything.”

Jennie said her two-bedroom apartment needed complete renovation throughout.

But this didn't faze her - instead, she saw it as a “good oppurtunity”, and put all her free time off work into painting and decorating.

And now, proud Jennie believes her flat is worth in excess of £150,000 - some £30,000 more than she paid for it.

She said: “I see where I'm living as a start. It needed work; it's not in the most expensive part of town, but I made those sacrifices because I'd rather own than rent.

“I'd like to think I'll move on in a couple of years.”

And despite her tender age and her frugal saving, Jennie has managed to fit in a decent amount of travelling, with visits to India, New York, Norway, Paris and Austria in the past few years.

She is currently saving to fund a trip around America's west coast later this year.

And she encourages any youngsters considering an apprenticeship to “go for it”.

“Starting my career at such a young age has taught me a lot about life, and I'm exactly where I want to be at the moment,” she said.

“I never wanted to be reliant on anyone else, and knowing I've achieved all this on my own is a brilliant feeling.

“With an apprenticeship they'll take you on, teach you how to sell, show you the ropes.

“It's acknowledged you are learning and so you can progress from the bottom up without the pressure to perform amazingly from the word go.

“I enjoy something new every single day. It's very challenging as you're constantly on your feet, quoting, driving around, making new sales and finding new business.”

She adds she is now considering progressing onto higher education, and pursuing a degree in interior design.

And her Operations and Development Manager, Liz Parsons, says Jennie is “the definition of a 'self-starter'”.

“Jennie is a perfect example of how giving young people a chance to shine can really pay off,” said Liz.

“Her work ethic and energy supersedes our expectations and we feel privileged to have staff of her calibre working for our company.”

(Source: Independent)

This Rajasthani village is abandoned and cursed for over 200 years

Kuldhara stands desolate and an uncanny silence prevails all around. This village was abandoned by its people 200 years ago, writes Ramya Abhinand in TBI. Read on: 

A little over 20 kilometres to the west of the desert town of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, lies Kuldhara.

As I take the dusty road that leads to it, I notice the scant presence of human existence. The vegetation is minimal – the meek straying goats have probably feasted on the last bits. The afternoon sun is fiery when I reach the ruined gates of the town. Kuldhara stands desolate and an uncanny silence prevails all around. This village was abandoned by its people 200 years ago.

Why is a once prosperous village now nothing but an abandoned old site?

I spot two shepherd boys and for a paltry sum of Rs. 10 they narrate to me the legend and curse of Kuldhara.

In an era of powerful kings and ministers, about 200 years ago, Kuldhara was home to the Paliwal Brahmins. It was during this time that Salim Singh, the Diwan of Jaisalmer, known for his debauchery and unscrupulous tax-collecting methods, set his eyes on the beautiful daughter of the village chief. The Diwan was absolutely hell bent on having the girl and he told the villagers if they came in his way he would levy huge taxes on them.

Fearing the wrath of the Diwan, the residents of the entire village fled one dark night, leaving behind their homes and everything within them. Kuldhara was abandoned by its very own people. No one saw the thousand-odd members of the village leave. For generations now, no one knows where the Paliwals have resettled. All that is known is they cursed the town when they left – that no one would ever be able to settle down in Kuldhara again.

That curse stays true till date because the town is barren and uninhabited.

The houses are almost in the same condition as they were left behind by their inhabitants. As I climb up the steps of one such home, I can see the entire expanse of the village. Lanes and brick homes, equidistant from each other, are neatly laid out.

I spot a little temple amidst a cluster of houses. Its walls have small niches that once held tiny little lamps.

As the sun sets across the sand dunes, the gates of Kuldhara are closed by the locals of the neighbouring villages.

They believe the ghosts of Kuldhara still haunt the place.

A sudden chill sweeps over me. Is it because of the eeriness of the place or the cool evening breeze of the desert? I’m not quite sure. But the legend and curse of Kuldhara definitely leave me intrigued.

Kuldhara today is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India as a heritage site.

Not Aadhaar, but marriage certificate for entering this Coimbatore park

The park 'requests' personal details such as name, address, phone number.

In a gross violation of privacy, a public park in Coimbatore is demanding marriage certificates of people who wish to enter its premises. In a shocking report that emerged on Saturday, M Kannan, a professor at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to which the park is attached is quoted as saying, “Fed-up with the couples using the park as their hiding and recreation area, the university has come up with this rule. We initially tried to put up rules and regulations such as seeking their ID proofs and asking details such as phone numbers. Despite all that, couples continued to behave inappropriately causing a lot of discomfort to other visitors. Students and families have also complained many times.”

However, when TNM contacted the Public Relations Officer, he refused to comment on the issue until Monday. Upon visiting the park, TNM found that the sign board near the entrance prominently mentions that all visitors are ‘requested to’ enter their name, address and phone number in the entry register. The board also ‘requests visitors to ‘maintain their dignity’ at the park, failing which ‘severe action’ could be taken.

One staff member at the park said, “Only families are allowed. School and college (students are) allowed. Only those who are married can come. If they come alone, we don’t send them, whether it is boys or girls.” Another staff member went so far as to suggest only those with the holy knot or thaali can enter the premises.

While the authorities seem to be covertly referring to public displays of affection by couples, masking it with words like ‘dignity’ and ‘nuisance’ is hardly going to put an end to the problem, especially not at the cost of personal and constitutional freedoms.

The Tamil Nadu Parks, Play-Fields and Open Spaces (Preservation and Regulation) Act, 1959 describes a park as “a place For the resort or the public for recreation, air or light.” However, the authorities seem to be taking issue with the recreation aspect of this definition.

Speaking to TNM, Prabhu, who had hoped to visit the park said, “We came here with friends to study. But according to the rules, we were not allowed inside. When we questioned this, the authorities said you are all lovers! They have decided without even asking.” Lamenting the lack of recreational spaces, Prabhu says, “In Coimbatore, there are not that many places we can go to for entertainment. If they take this away to based on unfounded suspicions, this is very bad. Today, it is lovers. Tomorrow it will be for a religion or a caste. This is bad for a democracy.

(Source: TNM)