By LIN LIANGTAI
Of Taipei, Taiwan
An updated evaluation on a “Carboniferous human calvarium fossil”
Last update: April 25, 2008 (fifth edition)
http://www.edconrad.com/pics/OldestHumanSkull.JPG
Summary
The author has examined through microscopes more than 30 thin sections
cut from “rocks” that Mr. Ed Conrad discovered and sent to the
author.
Without exception, they are all found to be fossils, including the
subject “calvarium fossil”. The object is a Carboniferous a human
calvarium fossil for the following reasons:
(1) its computed-tomography images bear close resemlance to a
calvarium;
(2) it contains fossilized osteocytes, Haversian canals, osteons, red
blood cells and various blood vessels in the specimens and thin
sections ;
(3) it contains remains of neurons and glial cells that are found only
in the central nervous system;
(4) No other animal has an organ or body part that matches its inner/
outer shape and size;
(5) Its inner cavity has a capacity of at least 1,025 cc.;
(6) It was found between coal veins near Mahanoy, Pennsylvania, where
geological structure has been dated to be around 300 million years
old. Some of the fossil’s blood vessels have turned into coal,
suggesting it once existed in a coal region. In addition to the
subject fossil, there are at least two other pieces of evidence for
human existence in the Carboniferous age.
====================================
ED CONRAD PROVEN RIGHT>
http://www.edconrad.com
First-Ever Update of Ed Conrad's Web page
====================================> <> Introduction
A “calvarium fossil” (Fig. 1, Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Video 4),
discovered and owned by Mr. Ed Conrad of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania,
U.S.A., has been considered for over 25 years to be just a rock, while
its owner keeps maintaining that it is a Carboniferous human calvarium
fossil. This article attempts to evaluate the object by answering the
following questions in this article’s Discussion section:
1. Is it a fossil?
2. Is it a calvarium fossil?
3. Is it a human calvarium fossil?
4 Is it a Carboniferous human calvarium fossil?
5. Are there evidences for human civilization in the Carboniferous
age?
6.Was there high-technology civilization in the Carboniferous age?
7. Further discussion/Attempts to disprove myself
7-1 Couldn’t it be a rock?
7-2 Couldn’t it be something other than a calvarium?
7-3 Couldn’t it be a non-human calvarium?
7-4 Couldn’t it be later than the Carboniferous age?
A calvarium is a skull without the lower jaw/the facial parts, whereas
a cranium refers to skull bones that enclose the brain (Ref. 1). A
calvarium could contain degraded brain remains.
Material and methods
Material A-1:
On the author’s request, the owner of the “fossil” cut a small
specimen from the object, took pictures of the spot where the specimen
was cut, and sent the specimen to the author by post.
The specimen arrived in the following conditions:
1. A chunk of “fossil” about 1.5 cm long, 1 cm wide, and 0.5 cm
thick.
2. Three small fragments that crumbled out of the above chunk when
the author took up the chunk to look at it for the first time. The
three fragments measure about 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm x 0.2 cm each.
3. Dozens of small grains, each measuring less than 0.2 cm in any
dimension.
Above three kinds of specimens were taken to the geology department of
National Taiwan University. They were made into three thin sections
(Thin Section 1, 2 and 3 respectively) in the following methods, which
ivolved no artificial staining of colors:
1. Thin section 1 (Fig. 4): Specimen 1 was cut for transverse and
longitudinal sections, which were then ground and mounted onto a glass
slide, namely thin section 1. One third of Specimen 1 was left from
the process of making the thin section (Fig. 5, Specimen 1 remnant).
2. Thin section 2 (Fig. 6): Fragments of Specimen 2 were cut, ground
and mounted onto a glass slide.
3. Thin section 3 (Fig. 7) : Small grains of Specimen 3 were placed
in
a mold, glued firmly together, ground to a thickness of about 0.03
mm,
and then mounted onto a glass slide, namely thin section 3. This thin
section was not totally covered with glass, but was coated with a
thin
layer of wax on its top side.
Specimens 1, 2, 3, and thin sections 1, 2, 3 were viewed through a
stereo-microscope, a digital microscope (ref. 11), and a reflected-
light microscope. The remnant from specimen 1 and thin section 3 were
also scanned by a scanning electronic mircoscope (Hitachi model
S-3400N).
The scanning electronic microscope also analysed the remnant’s
chemical composition in a tiny spot (Fig. 8, EDS report). Besides the
digital microscope, a camera (Canon model EOS 350D) was used to
capture images from the stereo-microscope and the reflected-light
microscope.
Material A-2:
On March 17, 2008, Mr. Ed Conrad cut another specimen from the object
and sent it to the author. This specimen measured roughly 5.5 cm X 4
m
X 3 cm. This specimen’s location on the “calvarium fossil” is
visible in Video 1.
This specimen, named SK2 (Fig. 2) by Mr. Conrad, was taken to the
geology department of National Taiwan University, where it was cut in
three different directions. Three thin sections were then obtained
and
named here as SK2-1, SK2-2, SK2-3 (Fig. 3).
The specimen and its three thin sections were viewed with various
microscopes, such as stereomicroscope, transmitted-light microscope,
digital microscope, and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Their
images were captured with the digital microscope, SEM, and Canon
camera Model EOS 350D.
Material B: the “calvarium fossil”
On March 28, 2008, the author had the “calvarium fossil” scanned by
the CT system of Alberta Research Council in Canada. The resulting
computed-tomography videos are listed in Result A.
The author had also asked the owner of the “fossil” to measure the
object and got the following data:
Outer dimensions of the object: 22.8 cm (maximum length) by 17.8 cm
(maximum width) by 13.3 cm (maximum height)
The owner advised the author that on the top side of the
object, there seems to be a 6-mm-thick coating of foreign substance.
To be on the safe side, the author subtracts twice that thickness—6mm
x 2—from the above outer length , outer width, and subtracts 6 mm
from
its exterior maximum height. Hence, the following figures are
obtained
and used for calculating its cranial capacity:
Outer dimensions: 21.6 cm (Length) by 16.6 cm (Width) by 12.7 cm
(Height)
Inner cavity dimensions: 15.9 cm (maximum length) by 10.8 cm (maximum
width) by 11.4 cm (maximum depth/height), as measured by its owner.
Based on the above data, the author calculated the cranial capacity
of
the object as follows:
1. Lee Pearson Formula, given by Williams et al (1995) and
Manjunath (2002b) (ref. 2).
For males: 0.000337 x (L-11) x (W-11) x (H-11) + 406.01
This formula uses outer dimensions, and those dimensions are
expressed
in millimeters in this formula. So, the following calculation is
done:
0.000337 x (216-11) x (166-11) x (127-11) + 406.01=1,648 cc
For females:
0.0004 x (L-11) x (W-11) x (H-11) + 206.60
Hence, the following calculation is done:
0.0004 x (216-11) x (166-11) x (127-11) + 206.60 =1,681 cc
Mean cranial capacity: (1648+1681) divided by 2 makes 1,665 cc.
As the gender of the “cranium” is unknown, only the mean figure is
considered here for convenience.
2. Spheroid Formula, given by Manjunath (2002b, ref. 3)
0.5238 x length x width x height(depth)= cranial capacity
Above length, width, and depth are measurements of the cranial cavity
and expressed in centimeter.
Hence the calculation 0.5238x15.9x10.8x11.4=1,025 cc.
Results
A. Animated Computed Tomography images in all three planes
(horizontal, coronal, and sagittal planes) of the whole object are
contained mainly in the following videos: Video 1, Video 2, Video 3,
Video 4.
B. The EDS report (Fig. 8, Energy Disperse Spectrum report), done by
the scanning electronic microscope, reveals that the object consists
of oxygen (46% by atom number), carbon (30%), silica (14%), and small
quantities of Fe, Na, Mg, and Al.
C. SEM images of Specimen 1 remnant and thin section 3 reveals
numerous remains of bone cells (osteocytes, Fig. 1-0), blood vessels
and red blood cells ( Fig. 9-1, Fig. 9-2, Fig. 9-3, Fig. 9-4, Fig.
9-5, Fig. 9-6, Fig. 9-7, Fig. 9-
.
D. Various images of the object also show (1) branching blood vessel
remains (Fig. 1-0-0), Haversian canals and osteons (Fig. 1-1, Fig.
1-2, Fig. 1-3, Fig. 1-4, Fig. 1-5); (2) degraded remains of Golgi
neuron , neuroglial cells and nerve fibers (Fig. 10-1, Fig. 10-2,
Fig.
10-3, Fig. 10-4, Fig. 10-5, Fig. 10-6, Fig. 10-7, Fig. 10-8, Fig.
10-9); (3) blood vessel’s transverse section remains (Fig. 11-1, Fig.
11-2, Fig. 11-3, Fig. 11-4, Fig. 11-5); (4) various fossilized
tissues
(Fig. 12-1 to Fig. 12-6).
E. Specimen 1 is found to have at least three black areas. One such
black area shows brilliant black vitreous luster under naked eyes and
microscopes (Fig. 5). SEM and light microscopic pictures reveal that
the shiny black area contains carbonized blood vessels and
erythrocytes (figures 9-4 to 9-
.
F. The estimated cranial capacity of the “calvarium” ranges from
1,025
cc to 1,665 cc as calculated in the preceding paragraph.
Discussion:
1. Is it a fossil?
Yes. Its computed-tomography images (Video 4) don’t look like any
rock. No rocks or plants contain all at the same time the remains of
bone cells, red blood cells, brain cells, Haversian canals, osteons
and blood vessels ...
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