LETTERS

The Origins of across multilingual Mesoamerica. The serve as the backdrop for a series of 16
demise of the Shang Empire circa 1500 jadeite figurines arranged in a ritual scene.
Olmec Civilization B.C.E. coincides with the emergence of These celts were deposited in Complex A at
Olmec civilization. Rather than speculate in La Venta between 800 and 700 B.C.E. (6),
IN THEIR RESEARCH ARTICLE “OLMEC POTTERY a vacuum on the intangible character of long after the demise of the Shang empire.
production and export in ancient Mexico Olmec society, it would seem profitable to Xu translates the incisions on the Offering 4
determined through elemental analysis” compare the archaeological remains with celts based on Shang characters (2); these
(18 Feb., p. 1068), J. P. Blomster et al. report the detailed record of the impact of writing celts, however, were recarved from a larger
that “all nonlocally produced Olmec-style on the development of Chinese civilization. engraved celt or plaque, so that the incisions
gray pottery samples found outside the Gulf What do we have to lose? represent fragments of a larger original
Coast” and all Conejo Orange-on-White and BETTY J. MEGGERS scene and are not individual characters (6).
San Lorenzo White vessels were produced in National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Meggers is quite right to suggest that
San Lorenzo. This evidence, they argue, indi- Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA. different possibilities for the rise of the Olmec
cates that “the San Lorenzo Olmec played a References should be considered, and as scholars we have

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central role in synthesizing a distinct style 1. M. Xu, J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 88, 1 (2002). nothing to lose by maintaining an open
2. M. Xu, Origin of the Olmec Civilization (Univ. of Central
and associated iconography, disseminating it Oklahoma Press, Edmond, OK, 1996), figs. 19, 24.
mind. There is also much value in Meggers’
across Mesoamerica” during the Early 3. B. J. Meggers, Am. Anthropol. 77, 1 (1975). suggestion of comparing the spread of Olmec
Formative period (circa 1200 to 850 B.C.E). iconography across Mesoamerica with the
They speculate that “[e]xchange of these Response way the invention of Shang writing revolu-
symbols formed an important component of I THANK MEGGERS FOR HER COMMENTARY. tionized Chinese society by allowing commu-
communication and negotiation between Meggers criticizes our failure to allude to nication across broad regions. Cross-cultural
communities on both intra- and interregional what she considers to be the striking resem- comparisons can be most illuminating, and I
levels” (p. 1071), but do not suggest what blance between Olmec iconography and thank her for presenting this idea.
information was transmitted. R. A. Diehl Shang writing. Although I acknowledge her JEFFREY P. BLOMSTER
poses this question in his accompanying long-standing interest in this subject (1), Department of Anthropology, George Washington
Perspective “Patterns of cultural primacy” our Research Article focused on the role of University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
(18 Feb., p. 1055) in the discussion of an the Gulf Coast Olmec in synthesizing and References
Olmec stone figure (shown here) displaying disseminating the first unified iconographic 1. B. J. Meggers, Am. Anthropol. 77, 1 (1975).
2. M. Xu, J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 88, 1 (2002).
several “defining” motifs. He asks, “what system in Mesoamerica, rather than the 3. A. Cyphers, in Población, Subsistencia y Medio
goods and other things did they seek?” actual origins of Olmec civilization. Ambiente en San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, A. Cyphers, Ed.
Like most other Mesoamericanists, the The scholar Meggers refers to, Mike Xu, (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
authors do not mention the suggests Shang origins for the City, 1997), pp. 255–274.
4. M. D. Coe, R. A. Diehl, In the Land of the Olmec, vol. 1,
striking resemblance between Olmec, invoking a transconti- The Archaeology of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán (Univ. of
Olmec iconog raphy and nental migration (2). Ongoing Texas Press, Austin, TX, 1980).
Shang writing, which has excavations by Ann Cyphers 5. B. Stark, in Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica,
J. Clark, M. Pye, Eds. (National Gallery of Art,
been demonstrated most (3), as well as previous research Washington, DC, 2000), pp. 31–53.
recently by Mike Xu with the (4), at the first Olmec center, 6. R. A. Diehl, The Olmecs: America’s First Civilization
collaboration of numerous San Lorenzo, document that (Thames & Hudson, London, 2004).
Shang specialists in China
(1). The three-pronged sym-
bols on the headdress of the
A statue of a water deity from
San Lorenzo monument 52.
“Intelligent” Design
statue shown in Diehl’s versus Evolution
Perspective and here are the Olmec culture developed in situ.
Shang symbol for rain, and Precedents to ceramic forms DONALD KENNEDY’S EDITORIAL (“TWILIGHT
the cross on the chest repre- and many sculptural types have for the enlightement?”, 8 Apr., p. 165)
sents the Shang sun god (2). been identified at San Lorenzo highlights how ineffective the scientific
Translation of the symbols on before the crystallization of community has been in the battle for the
three of the small “celts” Olmec civilization by 1200 minds of the American public. Arguing
(ungrooved axes) from the famous cache B.C.E. (uncalibrated). The origins of Olmec details of scientific facts before this audience
at La Venta, based on Shang counterparts, civilization most likely lie in the dynamic has been largely unproductive. Perhaps it is
produces phrases compatible with Shang social competition and negotiation of agents time to take a lesson from recent political
ritual offerings (2), and many other Olmec and factions at San Lorenzo, strategies campaigns: Instead of defending your
innovations have Shang antecedents (3). expressed in both communal and individ- position, attack a weakness of the opposi-
The invention of writing revolutionized ualistic stone monuments (5). No direct tion and repeat (again and again), with a
Chinese society by facilitating communica- evidence of Shang influence on the Olmec— modicum of humor. The following script
tion among speakers of 60 mutually un- or that of other Old World cultures—has been has been effective in dealing verbally with
CREDIT: FELIPE DÁVALOS

intelligible languages and resulted in documented by any of the archaeologists creationists/intelligent design adherents.
increased commercial interaction and currently working on the Gulf Coast. “You have a philosophic choice between
social intergration. The rapid diffusion of The most frequently cited example of evolution or belief in ID, so called intelligent
Olmec iconography and associated cultural “Shang influence” comes from the incised design. But even a first-year engineering
elaboration suggests it had the same impact celts found in La Venta Offering 4, which student would be embarrassed to have

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 LETTERS
designed your lower back with the extreme Cambridge, UK. He won the Nobel Prize in drugs that most of its own people will not be
bend that allows you to stand erect even 1968 (Medicine), and 12 years later, the able to afford.
though your pelvis slants forward for Indian government f inally woke up and SUJATHA BYRAVAN
knuckle-dragging like all our near relatives. awarded him with the nation’s highest Executive Director, Council for Responsible
You probably have had braces or wisdom civilian award—the Bharat Ratna (1980). Genetics, 5 Upland Road, Suite 3, Cambridge, MA
teeth extracted because there are too many Another issue relates to giving due 02140, USA.
teeth for the size of your mouth. Then there recognition for research work. Awarding
are your sinuses, with a flawed drainage first authorship of publications to the major Response
system that would provoke laughter from a contibutor is not the official policy in all SINHA RAISES A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE RELAT-
plumber. Yet evolution provides a ready and Indian research labs. Such a system creates ing to India’s failure to retain world-class
rational explanation for all these design an atmosphere in which credit can be talent; he asserts that India’s hiring policies
failures: by progressive changes into an erect usurped by less deserving people who are are not proactive and transparent enough.
posture, by shortening of a mammalian better placed in the hierarchy. If research He cites the case of Nobel Laureate
muzzle into a face, and by expansion of our institutions employ better guidelines and Hargobind Khorana’s quest for a possible
large brains to crowd the facial bones. So actively implement better policies in man- job in India. Paradoxically, the Khorana
take your choice: Do you prefer evolution or aging human resources, scientific repatria- incident led to government initiatives that
an ID whose letters may as well stand for tion to India would increase by a greater induced me to return to India.
Incompetent Design?” magnitude and the cause of science in India Indira Gandhi was then the Prime
After a bit of flustering, the ID adherent would be better served. Minister of India. She asked Y. Nayudamma,
usually mumbles something about our VINAYAK SINHA who was the then Director General of
inability to know the mind of God. The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Joh-J- Council of Scientific & Industrial Research
reply: “Indeed, ID is not science but religion Becherweg 27, Mainz, Germany. E-mail: (the position that I occupy today) to go
and should be taught as such.” [email protected] abroad, meet the best and the brightest of
These simple facts need little explanation, Reference young scientists, and offer them jobs on the
bring evolution to a personal level, and leave 1. H. G. Khorana, Science 287, 810 (2000). spot. I met Nayudamma in 1974, and after a
the ID adherent on the defensive, all with a bit 30-minute conversation, he offered me a job.
of humor. Others may wish to try it.
DONALD U.WISE THE ESSAY “INDIA’S R&D: REACHING FOR THE
The current Indian

“
Department of Geosciences, University of top” (4 Mar., p. 1415) by R. A. Mashelkar is
Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. remarkable not for what it says, but for the
issues it sidesteps. The Essay appeared just
laws protect the
Issues in Indian before the Indian Parliament debated the interests of the poor.”
Patents Bill, which will no longer allow the
Science production of generic drugs for use by peo- –MASHELKAR
ple in India and around the world. Pressure
I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH R. A. from international and domestic pharma- I did not go through a formal interview.
Mashelkar’s contention that India will ceutical companies has produced legislation Unfortunately, what Nayudamma could do
emerge as a very strong R&D force on the that, if passed, will create a situation where for Mashelkar is something that Mashelkar
world stage in a few decades (“India’s sick people will end up paying much more has not been able to do for another Mashelkar
R&D: reaching for the top,” Essay, 4 Mar., than they now do for desperately needed in recent times. There is certain amount of
p. 1415). The process of scientific repatri- medicines. Glorifying the pharmaceutical opacity that has crept into the system, which
ation to India could be made more effective industry and its enormous potential and is unfortunate, and the case that Sinha makes
if there is a concomitant restructuring in reach while ignoring the ramifications of the about transparency is perfectly valid.
scientific establishments His concern about the first authorship of
and institutions in India The scientific community in publications is a valid ethical issue; one
with regard to the selection
of personnel and recogni-
tion of professional excel-
lence. In most cases, the
selection policy is not
transparent and dynamic
enough and leaves room
“ India has been serving the
needs of the… middle class.”
–BYRAVAN
cannot defend those cases in which such
ethical norms are flouted. The Society for
Scientific Values in India does take up cases
of blatant violations. On the whole, I agree
that we need to do better.
Byravan is critical of the fact that India
has changed its patent laws to meet its inter-
for favors to be bestowed on less deserving Patent Bill is either disingenuous or, at the national obligations. The current Indian laws
candidates. The case of Nobel Laureate very least, implies that Mashelkar is wearing protect the interests of the poor. Our provi-
Hargobind Khorana is a grim reminder of dangerous blinders. sions include compulsory licenses as well as
such a systemic failure to retain and nourish The scientific community in India has measures to avoid “ever greening,” which is
world-class talent. Khorana returned to been serving the needs of the roughly 3 mil- a tactic often used to extend the life of the
India in 1950 after doctoral studies at the lion middle class. However, 450 million patent by filing new patent claims, which
University of Liverpool and a brief research Indians earn less than $1 a day. Rising show only marginal improvements of no
stint at the Eidgenössische Technische above one’s impoverished background, as significant consequence. In fact, there are
Hochschule in Zurich, Switzerland (1). He Mashelkar has done, is commendable, but special provisions in the law to ensure that
applied for several jobs in India, but owing science in India is not serving its poorest poor countries who do not have manufac-
to the lack of any interest in his applications members. Surely, it is ironic that the country turing capacity will be able to benefit from
and research proposals, he decided to take whose cost of intellectual capital is one of the the supply of affordable drugs by Indian
up a job as postdoctoral researcher in lowest in the world will end up producing companies under special circumstances.

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 LETTERS
Byravan’s concern that Indian science the photo credit, the photographer’s name was Full text at
and technology should work for the poor is misspelled. It should be Antonio Mari. www.sciencemag.org/cg/content/full/309/5734/558b
absolutely right. That is precisely what
Indian institutions have been doing. Our Special section: 125 Questions: What don’t we RESPONSE TO COMMENT ON “Nervy
know?” (1 July, p. 102). In the short item about the Links Protein Kinase A to Plexin-
achievements include providing cheaper Riemann zeta function, the expression “a + bi”
vaccines and drugs for the poor, bullock- should have read “1/2 + bi.” Mediated Semaphorin Repulsion”
driven reverse osmosis plants, and wireless
Jonathan R. Terman and Alex L. Kolodkin
local loop technologies for rural areas. I Letters: “Evangelical biologists and evolution” by J. C.
would like to quote from my Zuckerman Sutherland (1 July, p. 51).The author’s e-mail address Ice et al. challenge our observations using results
lecture, which I delivered at the Royal Society, was incorrect. It should be [email protected] obtained with newly generated anti-Nvy antibody.
London (1): “Our real challenge seems to be However, molecular genetic, in situ hybridization,
News Focus: “The ins and outs of exosomes” by J. and immunoprecipitation experiments support our
to get the best minds around the world to original conclusions that Nvy can be found in
Couzin (24 June, p. 1862). The story incorrectly
engage themselves in providing solutions to identified Mark Marsh of University College London axons, associates with the axon guidance receptor
the problems that can make a difference to the as Michael Marsh. Plexin A, and links protein kinase A to Plexin
humanity.” That is the crux of the matter. A–mediated axon guidance signaling.
RAGHUNATH A. MASHELKAR Full text at
Director General, Council of Scientific and TECHNICAL COMMENT ABSTRACTS www.sciencemag.org/cg/content/full/309/5734/558c

Industrial Research, Anusandhan Bhawan, 2 Rafi COMMENT ON “Nervy Links Protein

Marg, New Delhi 110001, India. Kinase A to Plexin-Mediated
Reference Semaphorin Repulsion” Letters to the Editor
1. R. A. Mashelkar, Innovation Strategy Today 1 (no. 1), 19 Letters (~300 words) discuss material published
(2005) (www.biodevelopments.org). Ryan J. Ice, Jill Wildonger, Richard S. Mann, in Science in the previous 6 months or issues of
Scott W. Hiebert general interest. They can be submitted
through the Web (www.submit2science.org) or
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS Terman and Kolodkin (Reports, 20 Feb. 2004, p. 1204)
used an antibody directed against the mammalian by regular mail (1200 New York Ave., NW,
This Week in Science: “Aging and death” (15 July, Washington, DC 20005, USA). Letters are not
ortholog of Drosophila Nervy (Nvy), ETO/MTG8, to
p. 352). The image that appears with this item acknowledged upon receipt, nor are authors
localize Nvy to axonal plasma membranes and show
should instead have appeared with the item below generally consulted before publication.
that it associates with Plexin A. We show that this
it, Reversing neurodegenerative change.” Whether published in full or in part, letters are
antibody does not recognize Nvy and that a newly
News of the Week: “A new skirmish in the generated anti-Nvy antibody labels the nuclei, and subject to editing for clarity and space.
Yanomamö wars” by C. C. Mann (8 July, p. 227). In not the plasma membranes, of neurons.

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