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Ice-agegiantslikethewoollyrhinomayoriginallyhavebeenTibetan

Aug24th2013|Chengdu|Fromtheprintedition

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Avisitorfromtheroofoftheworld

NOWADAYS,elephantsandrhinocerosesaretropicalspecies.Untilrecently,though,theywanderedasfarnorthastheArcticOcean.Thelastwoollyrhinodiedabout8,000yearsago.Woollymammothslastedanother3,500years,succumbingonlywhenhumanbeingsarrivedintheirSiberianrefuges.Whatnoonehasknown,however,iswhenandwheretheseanimalsevolvedtheeponymouscoatsthatallowedthemtorangeinsuchhighlatitudes.Thebestguesswasthattheygrewthemgradually,asicebegantogriptheworld2.6myearsago.

ButinthecaseofthewoollyrhinoXiaomingWang,oftheNaturalHistoryMuseumofLosAngelesCounty,andDengTao,oftheInstituteofVertebratePalaeontologyandPalaeoanthropologyinBeijing,disagree.Theythinkwoollyrhinosarrivedintheice-agetundrafullyformed,andsuspectotherbeastsmayhavedoneso,too.Intheirviewitwasnotglobalclimatechangethatforcedrhinostosportshaggycoats,butratheratriponageologicalelevator.Theybelievethechangehappenedwhenthebeastswereupliftedbyplatetectonicstobecomeinhabitantsoftheworld’spenthousesuite:

theplateauofTibet.

Thetworesearchers’evidence,astheyexplainedtoajointmeetingoftheGeologicalSocietiesofChinaandAmerica,heldrecentlyinChengdu,thecapitalofSichuanprovince,isthepartialskeleton（askull,ajawboneandacoupleofvertebrae）ofaprimitivespeciesofwoollyrhinoceros.Thisspecimen,foundintheZandaBasinofsouth-westernTibet,datesfrom3.7myearsago—wellbeforetheiceagesgotgoing.Itissmallerthananice-agewoollyrhino,butrecognisablysimilar.Inparticular,thoughitshornhasbeenlost,theplacewhereitwasattachedtoitsskullisflankedbythesortofcrestassociatedwiththeflathornsoftheice-agewoollyrhino.Theserhinosprobablyusedtheirhornstoscrapeawaysnowthatcoveredtheirfood.

AtthemomenttheZandabasinis4,000metresabovesealevel.Butfossilsnailsfoundneartherhinosuggestthatwhenitwasalivetheareawasasmuchas5,500metresup.ItmustthereforehavesubsidedafterhavingbeenthrownupduringthecollisionofIndiawithAsia,whichcreatedTibet.Suchaltitudewouldhaveproducedjustthesortofselectivepressureneededforwoollycoats,flathornsandotheradaptationstothecoldtoevolve.Thisdone,theiceageswouldhavemadetherestoftheworldafriendlyplace.

Rhinosareanancientlineage.Thewoollyrhino’sclosestlivingancestor,asprovedbylookingatthegenesoffrozenspecimens,istheSumatranrhino.Thelinethesetwobelongtosplitfromthoseleadingtotheotherfourmodernrhinospeciessome26myearsago,whenTibetwaslowerthanitisnow,sothehypothesisofDrWangandDrDengisplausible.Andifitweretrueforrhinos,itmightbetrueforotherice-agespecies.

NoancestralmammothhasyetbeenfoundinTibet,thoughelephantswereabundantinbothsouthernAsiaandmuchofChinauntilpeoplearrived（theyarerareinbothnow）.ButDrWangandDrDenghavemadeonepotentiallypertinentdiscovery.WhentheycomparedtheDNAofTibetanyakswiththatofAmericanbison,theyfoundthetwospeciesarecloselyrelated.Bisonarethelargestsurvivingrepresentativesoftheice-agemegafauna.PerhapstheseiconsoftheoldAmericanWestalsostartedlifehalfaworldawayinthefastnessesofTibet.

Passage2:

BlackAmerica

Wakinglife

Withhis“Ihaveadream”speech,MartinLutherKingthrewoutachallengetoAmerica.Howhasitbeenmet,50yearson?

Aug24th2013|PHILADELPHIA,MISSISSIPPI|Fromtheprintedition

INAcorneroftheimmaculatelawnofMtNeboMissionaryBaptistChurch,inPhiladelphia,Mississippi,liesalongtombstoneadornedwithfreshflowers.Nobodyisburiedthere;

thestoneisamemorialtoJamesChaney,AndrewGoodmanandMichaelSchwerner,threeyoungmenwhocametoNeshobaCounty,ofwhichPhiladelphiaistheseat,inthesummerof1964toregisterblackvoters.OnJune21stKlansmenalliedwiththecountypolicestoppedtheircar,shotallthreeatcloserange,andburiedthemunderadam.

Tenmonthsbeforehisdeath,onAugust28th1963,Goodman,thenastudentatQueensCollegeinhisnativeNewYork,heardthestatewherehewoulddiedescribedbyMartinLutherKingas“swelteringwiththeheatofinjustice,swelteringwiththeheatofoppression”.HewasoneofhundredsofthousandswhojoinedtheMarchonWashingtonforJobsandFreedom,thegreatestdemonstrationofAmerica’scivil-rightsera,andheardKing’s“Ihaveadream”speechdeliveredfromthestepsoftheLincolnMemorial.

Thespeechisrememberedprincipallyforitsstirringrhetoric,inparticularitsvisionofafutureinwhichKing’schildrenwould“notbejudgedbythecolouroftheirskinbutbythecontentoftheircharacter.”Atitscore,however,isasimple,radicaland,mostimportant,correctargument.Kingexplainsthatthedemonstratorshavecome“tocashacheque.”America’sconstitutionanddeclarationofindependencewere“apromissorynote…thatallmen—yes,blackmenaswellaswhitemen—wouldbeguaranteedtheunalienablerightsoflife,libertyandthepursuitofhappiness.”ThedemonstratorswereaskingmerelyfortherightsguaranteedtoallAmericansbythecountry’sfoundingdocuments.Segregationists,therefore,werenotjustbulliesandbigots;

theywerefailuresasAmericans,becausetheymisunderstoodorignoredthecountry’sfundamentalpremise.Kingpresentedhisdream,gloriouslyandspecifically,astheAmericandream.

Thepromisesofdemocracy

After50years,legalsegregationisadistantmemory,andraceinAmericaisnottheunbridgeablechasmitoncewas.Thecountryhasablackpresident.ThesortofcomitythatKingevoked,inwhichthedescendantsofslavesandofslaveowners“sitdowntogetheratthetableofbrotherhood”,canbefoundinmanyplaces,includingtheDeepSouth.Therateofmarriagebetweenblacksandwhitesisrising.

ButAmericahasnotentered—asmanyhopeditwouldatthetimeofBarackObama’selection—a“post-racial”phase.Blacksremainlikelierthanwhitestolackjobs,bepoor,getarrestedandservetimeinprison.Residentialsegregationofblacksfromotherracesisdeclining,butstillpersists.Afteryearsofnarrowing,thegapbetweenblackandwhitemedianincomewidenedfrom2000and2011,andthegapinhouseholdwealthisenormous.Theworkofthecivil-rightsera,itwouldseem,isnotyetdone.Buttheworkhaschanged,andnowitfallstodifferenthands.Theresponsibilityforendingsegregationandrepealingracistlawslaymainlywiththegovernment.Government’sroleinnarrowingtheracialgapsthatpersist,though,issmallerandlessclear.

King’sspeechlaidoutfourmajorgrievances:

discriminationbyprivatebusinessesandlocalgovernment;

barriersthatkeptblackAmericansfromvoting;

unfairtreatmentbypolice;

andwhatmightbroadlybecalledsocialmobilityandeconomicopportunity.“Wecannotbesatisfied”,Kingsaid,“aslongastheNegro’sbasicmobilityisfromasmallerghettotoalargerone.”

TheCivilRightsActof1964directlyaddressedthefirstgrievance.SignedintolawbyLyndonJohnsontenmonthsafterthemarch,and11daysafterthemurdersofChaney,GoodmanandSchwerner,itwasstronglyopposedbysouthernmembersofCongress.Itbannedbusinessesthatengageininterstatecommerce（whichthefederalgovernmenthastheauthoritytoregulate）fromrefusingtoservemembersofthepubliconthebasisofrace;

prohibitedthedenialofaccesstopublicfacilitiesonthebasisofrace;

authorisedtheattorney-generaltosuelocalauthoritiestoforceschooldesegregation;

banneddiscriminationbytherecipientsoffederalfundsonpainoflosingthatfunding;

andoutlaweddiscriminationbyanybusinessemployingmorethan25people,creatinganEqualEmploymentOpportunityCommission（EEOC）torespondtocomplaintsaboutsuchdiscriminationintheprocess.

TheVotingRightsActof1965—which,thoughpassedwithstrongbipartisansupport,againfacedbitteroppositionfromsouthernsenatorsandcongressmen—addressedKing’ssecondgrievance.Itoutlawedpolltaxes,literacytestsandotherpracticesdesignedtopreventblacksfromvoting.ItgavetheJusticeDepartmentandfederalcourtsthepowertovetoproposedchangestovotingproceduresinjurisdictionswithahistoryofdiscrimination.

Thetwoactshadthreelarge,lastingpoliticaleffects.First,blackpoliticalparticipationincreaseddramatically.In1965lessthan7%ofeligibleblackMississippians,roughly19%ofeligibleblackAlabamansandaround32%ofeligibleblackLouisiananswereregisteredtovote.Congresshadfiveblackmembers,allrepresentativesfromnorthernandwesterncities.In2012theshareofregisteredblackvotersinLouisiana,Mississippi,NorthCarolinaandSouthCarolinaexceededthatofnon-Hispanicwhites,andtraileditbyonlyalittleinmostothersouthernstates.Inthelastpresidentialelection,blackvoterturnoutexceededthatinanyotherracialcategory.RoughlyoneintenmembersoftheHouseisblack;

theycomefrom25statesandterritories.Mississippinowboastsmoreblackelectedofficialsthananyotherstate,thoughnoneholdsstatewideoffice.

Second,civil-rightslegislationrealignedAmerica’spoliticalparties.AtthetimeofthemarchDemocratshadalargeanddurablemajorityintheHouseofRepresentatives,acoalitionbetweennorthernandurbanliberalsandsouthernsegregationists（whitesouthernerscleavedtotheDemocratsafterlosingthecivilwartoAbrahamLincoln,aRepub