Missing Link Found; Owners Take Flyers Down From Local Lampposts

By Akela Talamasca on May 20th, 2009

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Darwinius masillae is the name of the newly-revealed fossil, which scientists are calling the “Holy Grail” of evolutionary theory. Displaying opposable thumbs and fingernails, the fossil nicknamed Ida had been languishing in obscurity, discovered in 1983 by a team of fossil hunters who clearly had no idea of the importance of their find.

Decades later, this “missing link” purports to prove Charles Darwin’s famous Theory of Evolution by providing a crucial missing step between stages of humankind’s growth.

So, this is great and everything, Go Science and all that, but I have to say, the fossil itself looks really … craftsy. It kind of looks like papier maché. It is, in fact, so well-preserved, one could use that either in its favor or against it as proof of its authenticity. Found in a pit that might have been a volcanic caldera, it’s certainly possible that it’s the genuine artifact … but the skeptic in me just wants there to have been some other sort of story behind this.

Adding to my consternation is the fact that the History channel is making this the subject of a televised special next week. It all seems to me more like the latest salvo in the heated debate between Evolution and Intelligent Design. But the hilarious bit is that even with what scientists would call rock-solid proof, the proponents of ID won’t accept this as any sort of confirmation. So really, this discovery will do more for scientific egos than anything else. I don’t know; you’d think I’d be really excited for this, but … I just don’t know.