Afarensis is a 3.5-2.8 million year old hominin from the Kada Hadar member of the Hadar formation in the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. He is approximately 41 inches tall, weighs approximately 60 pounds and has a cranial capacity of a whopping 410 cc (approximately). Afarensis is currently considered to be transitional between apes and humans and displays some traits of both. Since he spends a lot of time on the couch watching monster movies, some observers question whether he is an obligate biped (although no one has observed him climbing a tree). He also has a blog called 
A lot of ink has been spilled on the cause of death of Otzi the Iceman. Previous research indicated he died from wounds suffered during some kind of violent encounter. New research indicates a more exact cause of death. From Live Science:
Frank Rühli of the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and his colleagues scanned the mummy's body using computed tomography (CT) and found a lesion of an artery near the shoulder, underneath the clavicle bone.The wound was caused by an arrowhead, which had previously been detected, lodged into the mummy's back. In tissues surrounding the lesion, the scientists found a large hematoma, or bruise. By combining historic and modern data on how well one survives such a severe lesion, the scientists concluded that the Iceman died within a short time as a result of this lesion.
The arrowhead-caused injury caused the Iceman to drop dead. "It basically means [the Iceman] would bleed to death," Rühli told LiveScience.
Interestingly enough, there is also a medicine/evolution component to the story:
In addition, Rühli said the case is more than just a medical and archaeological curiosity. "We want to have more knowledge of life and death in ancient times to learn more about the evolution of diseases," he explained, referring to the study of ancient diseases as the fourth dimension of medicine.
The research is being published in The Journal of Archaeological Science - if someone has access I would love a copy. There is also this interesting article on Alpine glacial mummies
The BBC has more:
The University of Zurich researcher said the speed with which Oetzi would have died following his injury made it seem more likely he was shot on the glacier, rather than in the valley below where he started his journey.
Comments
I'll be able to get a pdf file of the paper after it is released for publication. It is so far in 'corrected proof' form, which I cannot seem to get to.
Posted by: ctenotrish, FCD | June 7, 2007 4:59 PM
Shucks, no pictures!
Posted by: Aerik | June 7, 2007 6:10 PM
ctenotrish - I have it now...
Posted by: afarensis, FCD | June 7, 2007 11:08 PM