Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2008 September 18

= September 18 =

How long have "Humans" been on the earth?
I'm having trouble pinning down a reference for this number of years so that I can fix the intro to this article-to-be: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Explodicle/Planetary_human_habitability http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Explodicle/Planetary_human_habitability

GabrielVelasquez (talk) 03:33, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
 * The concept you're looking for is "anatomically modern humans".--Wetman (talk) 05:35, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

You can look up the information within the subject of "Anthropology" at the public library or at a university library. A main campus university library is often better than any public for up to date text books of different subjects. Subject titles such as Hominid origins, Paleo-anthropology archaeology, early man, or perhaps East African archaeology. Archaeology (the British spelling) is also spelled as Archeology (American spelling). For professional journals start with Science and Nature. Even a current Paleontology university text might have the information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.186.204.243 (talk) 21:56, 18 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Homo Sapiens have been on this planet 200,000-300,000 years. All the species that have descended from the genus "homo" have lived here much longer. Australopithecus is the oldest ancestor that we know of so far. ScienceApe (talk) 15:50, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Poetry by Federica Garcia Lorca
I am looking for the poem "The Balad Of The Sea " By Federica Garcia Lorca. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.126.79.164 (talk) 04:19, 18 September 2008 (UTC)


 * This might be what you are looking for ("La balada del agua del mar") -- Ballad of the water of the sea. Antandrus  (talk) 04:25, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Australian author Paul John Radley
Some years ago, I stumbled upon a book Jack Rivers and Me by Paul John Radley. It was set in a (fictional) small Australian town called Boomeroo, and thus was the first book of Radley's "Boomeroo Trilogy". The second book, My Blue-Checker Corker and Me was easy to find and just as enjoyable, and then it took me a long time to get my hands on the final book Good Mates, which I finally had shipped to me (in the US) from an Australian used book seller. Said bookseller alluded to some scandal related to the author, perhaps the books were not the work of a 24 year old after all or something. . . I've thought perhaps that might explain why the third book didn't seem to have been published in the States. Anyway, I've never found out any details and was wondering if any of the erudite Ozzies round here might know more. -- LarryMac | Talk  14:14, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
 * "This is a good book, but in 1996, Radley admitted that his uncle wrote it. "Jack" was published under Radley's name so it would qualify for the first Vogel Prize competition for young Australian authors. (Radley's uncle was too old.) "Jack Rivers" went on to win the first Vogel Prize. And then to become a full-fledged Australian literary scandal." According to an Amazon.Com review.  --Tagishsimon (talk) 17:50, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I wonder why that didn't show up in my search results? In any event, I'd love to find something more reliable than a random Amazon customer.  -- LarryMac  | Talk  20:15, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
 * We have mention of it in The Australian/Vogel Literary Award. This google search seems to pull up some reliable sources, as does this. --Tagishsimon (talk) 20:21, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I bow to your superior google-fu; it's an interesting and sad story.  I guess it's too bad that uncle didn't write more, because I really enjoyed those books.  -- LarryMac  | Talk  20:29, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Honorary academic degrees
Anyone have an idea where (presumably off Wikipedia) I could find a list of honorary degrees granted to various people, sorted by name? I'm working in an archive where we have objects related to a certain person, including hoods that he received when being given honorary doctorates; while most of the hoods are labelled, one isn't, and it would be helpful to be able to discover what doctorates he was given so we could determine the other one by process of elimination. 63.172.28.202 (talk) 21:01, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Is there a reason why you're not saying who the person is? It would probably be easier to search from the person to the degree. The chances that there's the resource you're looking for is vanishingly small. Who would coordinate the collection of such information from the hundreds of universities around the world who make thousands of such grants each year? --Tagishsimon (talk) 21:05, 18 September 2008 (UTC)


 * You might try contacting the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume, which is the organization under the American Council of Education that oversees the standards of the academic costumes worn at commencements in the United States. Saukkomies 23:06, 18 September 2008 (UTC)


 * (You may know this already.) In some, if not all, cases the academic dress pattern is unique to a particular university. Eg, the color bands used on the hood, and the order of the colors "identifies" the university.  Wanderer57 (talk) 05:18, 19 September 2008 (UTC)


 * When I was a boy, we had a general encyclopædia with colour plates of academic dress. DuncanHill (talk) 09:11, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
 * There is some useful information at the article I linked, but alas no gallery that I can find. DuncanHill (talk) 09:13, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Another encyclopaedia is better than WP? Shocking!  We have all failed... Gwinva (talk) 09:15, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
 * It was jolly good, my mum's still got it. If I knew its copyright status (published sometime in the 20's) I'd be copying loads of stuff from it into the Wikipedia. DuncanHill (talk) 09:17, 19 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Sounds very interesting. What's it called, Duncan?  --  JackofOz (talk) 01:47, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

obama and 9/11
what does barack obama think about the documentary "loose change"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.241.237.101 (talk) 22:18, 18 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I think you would be better off asking Barack Obama himself, rather than Wikipedia editors who are not even running for president. Astronaut (talk) 00:38, 19 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Uh, that's a little out of line. People are more than welcome to ask questions about what politicians have said their opinion is on various issues. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 01:24, 19 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I doubt he has seen it. Even if he has, I doubt he would admit it. Even if he did, I doubt he would say he felt anything other than it was BS. Because he's a guy running for political office. Obviously. Use your head! --98.217.8.46 (talk) 01:24, 19 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Hey, be civil, please. But I do agree with your first reply; we are just editors of an encyclopedia and don't know Barack Obama's personal tastes.


 * The 2 x 98.217.8.46s seem to be different persons. One asks for civility, the other displays incivility.  How odd.  --  JackofOz (talk) 06:08, 19 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Especially since it was done in one edit. Maybe we're dealing with conjoined twins with radically different personalities? Matt Deres (talk) 18:56, 19 September 2008 (UTC)