What does the economic crisis have to do with Ardipithecus ramidus, the so-called missing link discovered in 2009? According to Patrik Etschmayer of the Swiss newspaper Nachrichten, everything.
For Nachrichten, Patrik Etschmayer writes in part:
If you find yourself asking again, why the damned economy has collapsed and who you should blame for it … I have a viable candidate. The shabby little chap stood 4 feet tall, weighed scarcely 110 pounds and is well-known among his friends as “Ardi.” But if you hope to get anything back from him now, I’ll have to disappoint you. Not only because his homeland Ethiopia has a notoriously slow-growth economy, but because Ardi, whose full name is Ardipithecus ramidus, lived 4.4 million years ago and all that’s left of him are a few bones.
So why is this little fellow to blame for the recession – apart from the fact that there would be no humans without him and no recession without humans? … The status of Ardipithecus in his environment was that of prey for the ancestors of today’s lions and leopards. Danger was imminent and extremely deadly. Fright and flight were the immediate reactions to a rustling in the bushes or a movement seen on the edge of vision between foliage. The pungent scent of cat urine cranked up his attention quickly, signaling a possible sign of danger nearby. … When today, predominantly male traders rake in cash without a thought for the risk, it doesn’t occur for the same life-sustaining reasons as ancient times, but according to the same behavioral patterns. We know the results. … This “all or nothing” way of thinking is an endowment from our hominid ancestors who, living under conditions of constant scarcity, couldn’t pass up a chance for a rich bounty. There was simply no such thing as too much food.
By Patrik Etschmayer
Translated By Patrik Etschmayer
December 21, 2009
Switzerland – Nachrichten – Original Article (German)
If you find yourself asking again, why the damned economy has collapsed and who you should blame for it … I have a viable candidate. The shabby little chap stood 4 feet tall [1.2 meters], weighed scarcely 110 pounds [50 kilos] and is well-known among his friends as “Ardi.” But if you hope to get anything back from him now, I’ll have to disappoint you. Not only because his homeland Ethiopia has a notoriously slow-growth economy, but because Ardi, whose full name is Ardipithecus ramidus, lived 4.4 million years ago and all that’s left of him are a few bones.
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