Afarensis

Skeleton Sheds Light on Ape-Man Species - NEWS - SCIENCE - Comcast.net

Australopithecus afarensis

Apparently, scientists found the remains of an Ape-Man (Ape-Girl) in Ethiopia sometime in the year 2000. They have taken over 5 years removing the body and apparently, the job will take several more years to complete. They are very excited about the find.

I'm not sure why this is listed as "news" on my comcast portal given that the find was made several years ago and that the body has not been completely removed, but that is not really what I am blogging about.

The article says that this Ape-Girl is about 3.3 million years old.

She was about 3 years old when she died (apparently).

3.3 MILLION years old.

I am 36 years old.

If you compare 3.3 million years to a 24 hour day, 36 years would represent a little less than one second of the day. All the years I have been alive could be gone in the time someone could say "one-thousand-one".

It is the year 2006. 2006 years corresponds to less than one minute on our cosmic clock. In turn, if you compare the age of the Earth (4.6 Billion Years old) to the 3.3 Million years of the little ape-girl from Ethiopia, we are talking only about one minute on THAT cosmic clock.

I guess I could look at this and feel insignificant. Scientists think that homo sapiens have only existed for about 50,000 years on an Earth that is 4.6 billion years old in an universe that is only 20 billion years old. And I have only existed 36 years. In the grand scheme of the universe, I am less than a blink of an eye.... a lot less than a blink.

But this does really make me think that insignificant. It does put me in awe of the God who created it all. I am amazed that the One who designed this universe and put it in motion has the capacity to look at me as special and important. To say that this capacity amazes me is so completely understating the situation that it is not really funny. There is probably not a word in the English language that communicates how awesome this is. I certainly do not have the capacity to see myself as wonderful as God apparently sees me.

Anyway, I hope the little 3-year old ape-girl had a happy, healthy life over her limited years. I hope her death was not too traumatic. I wonder if someday I will meet her in heaven.