[Pharmboy]

The dean of NY Times science writers comes out of his cave on this issue.

[Pharmboy]

Ping...

[Renderofveils]

The question of what Neanderthals and Homo sapiens might have done on cold nights in their caves, if they happened to get together and the fire burned down to embers, has intrigued scientists since the 19th century, when the existence of Neanderthals was discovered.
My theory is that they listened to Dick Clark.

[Modok]

They need to look at Hillary and see if maybe some inbreding took place there. If there are any Neanderthals out there reading this, sorry about the first sentence of this.

[elmer fudd]

My reading of history indicates that whenever two groups of people occupy the same land they invariably do two things, fight and f***. It would seem to me to be very unlikely that CroMagnons and Neanderthals were any different in that regard and 3000 years would be plenty of time for it. Just think of it in modern terms. 3000 years would put us back to the time of the pharoahs. Think of all the Viking, Mongol and Moorish genes that got spread around widely in much shorter time periods.

If there are no Neanderthals in our gene pool then it's because they couldn't interbreed, not because they didn't try.

[CarrotAndStick]

A Good Neanderthal Was Hard to Find

No, it's not. Here's one:

[SkyPilot]

The whole debate about Neanderthals is specious and changes more than bad socks.

At first, the theory was Neanderthals never existed with Homo Sapiens, they were very short, with a small brain, and a complete skeleton was never found or assembled. Anthropologists claimed to have 500 specimens of Neanderthal remains, but later admitted most of those were of children.

When they finally did assemble a skeleton using "fill in" parts, it looked nothing like their earlier theories! Neanderthal was taller than homo sapiens, and with a larger brain!

Umm...OK.

And the theory changes, and changes, and changes.

Perhaps (just perhaps) there isn't any such thing as a separate race in this category at all.

But then, a lot of people will have to admit they were flat out wrong.

I guess it is easier to just keep "updating" the theory.

[Caipirabob]

"SHEEZA...BRICK...HOUSE!..."

[ASA Vet]

[ARCADIA]

Dr. Harvati said, "a restricted coexistence interval may be easier to reconcile with the observed lack of Neanderthal genetic contribution to the modern human gene pool

Well you could have fooled me....

[Just mythoughts]

Wait a minute Neanderthal is not human???? Modern man did not come from Neanderthal??? This should be on every headline news and updates at the top and bottom of each and every hour.

Science/biology books need recalled for unsupported claims.

[mewzilla]

Color me confused. IIRC, when I was in school Neanderthals were considered a sub-species, not a separate species, which meant interbreeding was possible and likely. Even if a time split between the two groups made interbreeding unlikely (which one of my old profs argued would have made the Nees a separate species), what physiological difference/s could there have been in the Nees that would have made a union between members of the two groups sterile? I thought the Nees were considered a sub-species?

[bvw]

It is human nature to jump into theories well before the dust of evidences settles, and that nature goes back to when the first blade of grass popped forth.

[bert]

It is my understanding both species lived in close proximity simulataneously for 11,000 years in caves discovered in Israel.

[Dustbunny]

What we need is a time machine so we can go back and collect the information on the theories we keep coming up with.

[humblegunner]

observed lack of Neanderthal genetic contribution to the modern human gene pool

I better get out there and do my part!

[Phil Connors]

This article of course raises the other question, was a hard Neandertal good to find? >:0>

[SunkenCiv]

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

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[zakbrow]

neanderthal ping

[SunkenCiv]

the main reason I love Neandertal topics?

The Neandertal Enigma
by James Shreeve

Frayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]

[BenLurkin]

"old radiocarbon calculation is now known to be off by as much as several thousand years

Nah . . . who'da thunk!