I think you bear a distinct resemblance, don’t you? You think not? Well, there are approximately four million years of mutations, I mean “improvements,” between you and Mama Ardie. Personally I think she is an improvement on Mama Lucy who, I am told, you may not really be related to after all. The scientists who approve all such familial connections are having a little bit of a spat over whether or not Lucy’s line died off or whether it is part of the same branch of development of the species homo sapiens. I am sure that after many trees have been sacrificed over the next few years and barring any new relatives rising from the dirt, anthropologists will tell us with some measure of surety how the family feud turned out. I know many are really anxious to discover exactly what kind of chimpanzee they can claim as common ancestor. But again, Mama Ardie may not be a predecessor of the chimpanzees at all:

“The anatomy behind this behavioral combination is very unexpected and is certain to cause considerable rethinking of not only our evolutionary past, but also that of our living relatives: the great apes,” said Alan Walker, professor of biological anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. Many scientists hypothesize that humans took a different evolutionary trajectory from those of chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas. Ardi’s findings help challenge earlier beliefs that humans evolved from chimpanzees, their closest genetic relatives, scientists say.

Oh well, I am sure that someone will figure it out in the end. I do suppose that it is worthwhile to know such things. The only way to really prove that we are anything worth note in the “grand scheme” is to prove what was “earlier” on the timeline is definitely inferior to what is currently on the timeline. I wonder what science will say in four million more years?

As for me, I am related to another chain of changes all together. Although I have been told I am pretty hairy (except for on my head) and not too awfully smart in appearance, I am the bearer of a heritage of “made-by-hand” origins. I resemble, in some devalued state, my maker. To be honest, my people have argued at length over this theory of origin and, yes, many trees have been slaughtered in the process. All the discussion has been for naught. We could not come up with anything better than God speaking everything into existence and making homo sapiens by hand…from dirt.

So I am pleased you all have a new picture of your grand-mama, but I am going to stick with my portrait-in-dirt, thank you very much.