Welcome to the Origin Chapter 1 Discussion!

Please note that in order to receive your 1 PGP for this discussion, you will need to make one original post and then reply to two other posts (for a total of three posts).  Of course, this is the minimum requirement and more discussion is always encouraged.

Below are some questions to help facilitate discussion, but please feel free to add additional comments/questions as well!

1.  What are your thoughts about the discussion of the Alligator and Serpent Mounds?

2. What surprised you about the discussion of Thomas Jefferson's contributions to this field of study through Notes on the State of Virginia?

3.   Speak about how many museums obtained their collections and if you feel these situations were handled appropriately:  "Like the museum collections of artifacts, these skeletal collections-which include the remains of people from all across the world-have formed the basis for an enormous body of research in biological anthropology and have contributed immeasurably to our understanding of past populations, human skeletal variation, human development, disease, and a myriad of other topics encompassed by the field. "..."But many have raised concerns about the ethics of their existence and continued use of these human remains particularly in light of the history of their formation and who is represented in them."  (quotes from Origin pages 26, 27)

4.  What did you learn about the origin of the races discussion from pages 28-38?

5.  The end of chapter 1 discusses mitochondrial and Y chromosome sequences and how they have informed our understanding of the origins of Native Americans.  What stood out to you from this discussion?