New evidence may not fit neatly into the categories people already use. When it surfaces, it can prompt a second look at how a field is organised.
The journal Science reported on two partial skeletons that were encased in cave deposits at the Malapa site in South Africa. Geologists estimated that the individuals lived 1.78 million to 1.95 million years ago, probably closer to the older date. The Science report noted that together they represent a new species of Australopithecus that is probably descended from Australopithecus africanus.
Evidence and Categories
In many disciplines, models of change may be drawn as straight lines until new data complicates the picture. Placing a new find within an existing framework is likely to take careful judgement.
When people evaluate complex systems, they may lean on categories that already exist. A newly named category can prompt an update to that wider map. It may lead observers to ask whether earlier boundaries were drawn too rigidly.
In fields ranging from biology to technology, useful insights can come from edge cases. Perhaps discovery is less about adding one data point than about rethinking where the boundaries lie.
Sources
- New Hominid Species, Au. Sediba, Discovered in South Africa - NYTimes.com - The New York Times, 2010-04-08
- Australopithecus sediba: A New Species of Homo-Like Australopith from South Africa -- Berger et al. 328 (5975): 195 -- Science - Science, 2010-04-09
