[fishtank]

Image credit: Copyright © 2013 AAAS. Adapted for use in accordance with federal copyright (fair use doctrine) law. Usage by ICR does not imply endorsement of copyright holders.

Fig. 2 The Dmanisi paleodeme. CT-based visualizations, from left to right: D2280 (skull 1), D2282/D211 (skull 2), D2700/D2735 (skull 3), D3444/D3900 (skull 4), D4500/D2600 (skull 5). Scale bar, 5 cm. See fig. S3 for a full set of standard views.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6156/326.full

[Jack Hydrazine]

Scientists’ beebers stuned!

[DannyTN]

significant variation still occurs...

[William Tell]

If anthropologists are just now considering what level of variation is likely to occur in prehistoric populations, given that we have 4 billion examples alive today, then their work is no better than that of the average “climate scientist”.

[lonestar]

Fossil Menagerie

McCain and McConnell

[campaignPete R-CT]

it’s fun to make fun of evolutionists
it’s fun to make fun of creationists

[justa-hairyape]

Those ole ape wars must have been legendary, at least to the apes.

[2nd Amendment]

One of the specimens is believed to be homodemocraticus, an extremely small-brained ancestor of the modern day homoliberalis.

[fella]

Forcing facts to fit your moneyed theory is how scientific consensus is emplaced.

[Right Wing Assault]

Wow, the one in the upper right is wearing sunglasses!

[BroJoeK]

from the article: " 'Analysis of the skull and other remains at Dmanisi suggests that scientists have been too ready to name separate species of human ancestors in Africa.
Many of those species may now have to be wiped from the textbooks,' according to The Guardian.3 "

The word "species" is just one scientific classification, based on various criteria.
Among animals, different individuals may belong to the same breed, sub-species, species, genus, family, order, etc., etc.
Which classifications they belong to is a matter of definitions and features.
The word "species" generally means no normal interbreeding with members of other species.
Thus, although Polar Bears and Brown Bears can interbreed, they normally do not, and so are classified as separate species.
But if interbreeding is found to be common, then they are considered sub-species of the same species.

So with human ancestors and other pre-humans.
Frequent interbreeding means they are sub-species, little or no interbreeding means they are separate species or even genera.

Here is the current general understanding of human ancestors and other pre-humans:

from the article: "Among those species would be Neandertal and Cro-Magnon, which deserve no recognition as separate forms that supposedly evolved into Homo sapiens—modern humans."

In fact, there is no evidence -- zero -- that Cro-Magnons were anything other than biologically modern humans.
As for Neanderthals, the question is: were they a separate species or just sub-species of human beings?