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… Photosynthetic unicellular organisms. Oxidation. Mutation. Natural selection and evolution. Respiration. Cell differentiation. Sexual reproduction…

(Excerpted from “The History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less” by Eric Schulman
© copyright 1996-1997. by Eric Schulman)
Located on the web at: http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3fs8i/hist/hist.html

Can Genealogy DNA Testing take us back to the beginning?

As of today scientists, historians and genealogists have fairly reached the conclusion that the following list of bi-peds are in the evolutionary chain of human like creatures that inhabited earth and that evolved in to modern day Homo Sapiens.

Here are some fairly acceptable date ranges for various Hominid species.
Homo Habilis – 2.2 to 1.6 million years BCE (Before Common Era 2010)
Homo Erectus – 2 to 0.4 million years BCE
Homo Sapiens – 400,000 to 200,000 BCE
Homo Sapiens Neandertalensis – 200,000 to 30,000 years BCE
Homo Sapiens Sapiens – 130,000 years BCE to present.
(Washington State University)
http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vwsu/gened/learn-modules/top_longfor/timeline/timeline.html

Apparently most of us, at least Americans, resemble some of our ancestors as depicted in this sculpture known as the Venus of Dolni Vŭstonice, one of the earliest known figurines depicting the human body. Dates back to about 29,000 to 25,000 BP. (Before Present 1950,) or say, about 27,000 BC.  (courtesy wikipedia)

Oldest figurine of human body

Humans are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate natural phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills, which are passed down culturally; humans are the only animal species known to build fires, cook their food, clothe themselves, and use numerous other technologies.
(From wikipedia/humans)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_sapiens#Human_evolution

Seems I recall that we along with apes and monkeys have and use opposable thumbs that are able to  articulate which is a pretty handy feature for climbing trees and other tasks.  I know that I am a super being in the eyes of my three dogs.  They trust me for their next meal.  I make light appear magically when I enter a room, and best of all I can turn a door handle.

Ultimately researchers will not fully agree on exact times and dates but through the use of DNA testing we can get almost all the way back to the earliest known one of three, or one of seven, female ancestors.

That is quite an accomplishment for sure.

The DNA ancestry project of your family is the name that is generally used when a family member traces back their lineage by genetic means. Before the advent of DNA testing, when a person wanted to know about their past, they would usually start by interviewing the elder members of the family.

Families usually have one member that is like the unofficial historian of the clan. This member would be the recipient of the old newspaper articles and other clippings of events in which family members were involved.

With the discovery of DNA testing and the ease at which a person and family can utilize it now, since the costs have dramatically decreased in recent years, the search of a family’s past has been made significantly easier.

By having your family tree traced back through both the Y DNA and the mtDNA lines, a person would be able to locate the areas where their family lived in past years. With the use of the surname data bases that are on most DNA ancestral sites, it is much easier to find out pertinent information about past members of your family.

Some searches lead to more information than others, but one fact has been found out about all of the humans that are living in the modern age. We all came from Africa and a common ancestor about 65,000 years ago. It’s the path from then till present day that tells the story of a family. This is what the study of the genealogy of your family can tell you.

By knowing your past relatives, you will know more about yourself and why you live where you do. This is what a family DNA ancestry project can bring you and your other family members.

This is where you can take the simple, pain free, DNA ANCESTRY PROJECT

Those of you that do genealogy research should enjoy this incredibly rare video of what big city living was like in the early 1900′s. A couple of weeks ago there was a huge discussion on one of the genealogy mail lists about why there were so many deaths by train in the old days.

Update: (PLEASE NOTE – This video is being resized and will be available soon.) Available NOW !

San Francisco Video Before the Earthquake

The common term you find in old newspaper articles is, “Killed by the cars”. Well when you view this video it will all become perfectly clear to you as to why so many people were killed by the cars.

Perhaps folks in the horse and buggy days were used to a horse having enough common sense to shy away from a human standing in the road. Chances are trains and electric rail cars didn’t move off the track much.

OK, so this old video does not have anything to do with DNA testing but it sure got my genealogy juices flowing. Please enjoy and if you like it as much as we do please link to it or tell your friends. Thank you.

Video of  San Francisco Before the Earthquake 1906

The following description of the actual footage is taken from the archives of the Library of Congress.

Market Street, San Francisco, California.

This rare film was shot from the front window of a moving Market Street cable car, is one of the only video records of San Francisco’s principal thoroughfare and downtown area before their destruction in the 1906 earthquake and fire.

The filmed ride covers 1.55 miles at an average speed of nearly 10 miles per hour. While there is no production or copyright information on the film, the state of completion of the Flood Building and the Monadnock Building indicate that the year is 1905.

Also, the apparent position of the sun in relation to the time visible on the Ferry Building clock point to early September as the month. Market Street, graded through sand dunes in the 1850′s, is 120 feet wide, and nearly 3.5 miles long.

The street runs northeast from the foot of Twin Peaks to the Ferry Building. Different street grids, diagonal on the northwest side and parallel on the southeast side, create several awkward diagonal intersections along Market Street, contributing to the chaotic traffic situation that is evident in the film.

San Francisco’s cable cars, which first began operations in 1873, have no power of their own, and operate by “gripping” a moving cable beneath a slot in the street. This is the origin of the name “south of the slot” for the South-of-Market Street district.

The Market Street lines, dating from 1883, merged in 1902 to form the United Railroads of San Francisco. Dark cars served westerly neighborhood lines extending along McAllister, Hayes and Haight streets, light cars served southwesterly neighborhoods, with the lines extending along Valencia and Castro streets.

The Market Street section of the lines ended at the Ferry Building, where passengers boarded ferries for Oakland, Alameda, or Berkeley, across San Francisco Bay. East of Sutter Street, horse cars ran along Market Street. Independently owned, they ran on side tracks to the Ferry Building.

A few electric streetcars, dating from 1892, are seen in the film crossing Market Street. Market Street itself reverted to electric streetcars in 1906, following the earthquake and fire. In all, the film shows some thirty cable cars, four horse cars and four streetcars. An interesting feature of the film is the apparent abundance of automobiles.

However, a careful tracking of automobile traffic shows that almost all of the autos seen circle around the camera/cable car many times (one ten times).

This traffic was apparently staged by the producer to give Market Street the appearance of a prosperous modern boulevard with many automobiles. In fact, in 1905 the automobile was still something of a novelty in San Francisco, with horse-drawn buggies, carts, vans, and wagons being the common private and business vehicles.

The near total lack of traffic control along Market Street emphasizes the newness of the automobile. Granite paving stripes in the street marking ignored pedestrian crosswalks, making the crossing of Market Street on foot a risky venture. The pedestrian “islands” for homeward-bound downtown cable car commuters are among the few signs of order visible in the film.