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Often touted as an impossible conundrum, this question is actually easier to answer than you might think. The answer is, quite clearly, the egg. We simply need to go back in time to examine things. The first eggs with waterproof shells that could be laid on land appeared about 312 million years ago. Most biologists agree that domestic chickens came from a tropical bird that still exists today in the forests of Southeast Asia, called the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus). Humans began domesticating red junglefowls about 10,000 years ago, eventually creating a new bird subspecies (Gallus gallus domesticus… aka the chicken). As you know, humans eventually spread domestic chickens around the world. So, in one respect, eggs obviously predated chickens by hundreds of millions of years. But this is an oversimplification of the question. Let’s consider the very first chicken—the very first individual that had the genetic characteristics that made it a new subspecies. Well, genetic variation comes about through a process called mutation. This is true whether we’re talking about life forms that live wild, or those that humans breed for certain desirable characteristics. The genetic variation comes from the same phenomenon—mutations. These mutations cause new physical traits, and these traits are selected, either by the forces of nature (natural selection) or by humans (artificial selection). Sometimes the mutations cause changes that are significant enough that the new individual is considered a new subspecies or even a new species (this usually occurs incrementally over time, but sometimes it can happen relatively quickly). Anyway, long ago, there was a time when a male red junglefowl mated with a female red junglefowl, and a mutation occurred in the process of the male’s sperm cell fertilizing the female’s egg cell. The mutation resulted in the very first bird that could be considered a chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). This fertilized egg formed a chicken egg, with the embryo developing inside the egg. The very first chicken hatched out of that egg. So… the first chicken egg came before the first chicken. Mystery solved, right? But wait! If you think about it, that very first chicken came from an egg that developed inside a female red junglefowl. That means the egg was a red junglefowl egg. And the first chicken egg didn’t exist until that first chicken grew up and laid her own chicken egg. Which means the chicken came before the egg! Now I’m just confused. 
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I recently shared images of some hooded mergansers, showing the striking differences between the drakes and the hens. Another species I saw a few weeks ago (most of them have moved on north by now) is the common goldeneye. The first photo is a drake, the second photo shows a drake and a hen. Common goldeneyes are diving ducks, which means they dive all the way underwater to search for food. They are primarily predators, eating small fish and aquatic invertebrates like crayfish. They also eat plant material, but plants make up less than 25% of their diet. It's fun watching them feed because they synchronize their dives... the group (sometimes up to twenty) will disappear underwater all at once, which I suppose helps confuse the prey animals, making them easier to catch. They stay underwater for as long as a minute, then they all pop back up to the surface. Like the hooded merganser (and the wood duck), common goldeneyes nest in cavities in trees. They breed in northern Canada and Alaska. I also included a couple photos of a drake mallard that was feeding close to the shore. Mallards are dabbling ducks, rather than diving ducks. Instead of diving all the way under, they just tip their body and submerge their head in shallow water to feed on plants and seeds (though they also eat small animals to get more protein during the breeding season). There you go... another dose of quacky facts.     Photo credit: Goldeneyes and mallard - Stan C. Smith A few days ago, I was walking along the shore of the lake cove about a half mile from our house when I came upon a stone half buried in the mud. Seeing it had an unusually smooth shape, I pulled it out. This is what I found.   I'm not a serious collector of stone artifacts, and I honestly don't know much about them, so I sent photos to my son Ryan, who posted them to a Missouri artifacts Facebook group. Based on its shape and large size, the consensus seemed to be that it is likely an adze. Or possible an axe. Both of these are tools that were often used for woodcutting (and cutting many other things). For shaping canoes, tool handles, and anything else made of wood. Also used for digging. So, what's the difference between an adze and an axe? They have similar uses, but an adze has the blade positioned perpendicular (at a 90° angle) to the length of the handle (see the tool on the right below in the third photo). An axe, on the other hand, has the blade positioned parallel the handle (the tool on the left). If my artifact is an axe or adze, maybe it was positioned on the handle in such a way that both sharp ends could be used... one end with a flat, chisel-like tip, the other end with a more rounded tip. A dual-use tool. It's also possible this artifact is a spear tip. But most spear tips have a sharper point than this, which is why the consensus was a woodworking tool. How old is it? That's a much harder question to answer. Some of the oldest artifacts in Missouri are from the Clovis culture. The Clovis people were nomadic hunter-gatherers that were in the area of Missouri from about 13,000 years ago (maybe more) to about 10,000 ago. Their stone points are distinct in shape, different from the one I found. So, I can assume it was likely made in the last 10,000 years. But my limited knowledge ends here. I simply don't know. Still, I find it fascinating to imagine the person who made this tool. What was he (or she) like? What kinds of animals did this person see that are now long extinct? Did this person stand in the exact spot where I was standing when I found the artifact? Did the person think about love and joy and beauty? I wish I knew.  |
Stan's Cogitations
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May 2025
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