homо

King Bowzer · 07-16-2006, 04:54 PM

Do you think Homо sapiens is a descendent of Homо neanderthalis or do you think both species are separate lineages of a common Homо, namely Homо erectus?

LifeMaker · 07-16-2006, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Bowzer

Do you think Homо sapiens is a descendent of Homо neanderthalis or do you think both species are separate lineages of a common Homо, namely Homо erectus?

I'm a human being created by God. i've never changed since God created me.
I don't believe in Darwin's legendary.

Violent Pacifist · 07-16-2006, 05:10 PM

This isn't a debate. The answer is already known.

King Bowzer · 07-16-2006, 05:13 PM

You claim to already know the answer? Because from my research there is a huge controversy over which story is the right story. Either humans evolved from Neanderthals, or they didn't. Which answer is the right answer?

Violent Pacifist · 07-16-2006, 05:15 PM

The one backed by historical fact: we didn't.

King Bowzer · 07-16-2006, 05:17 PM

Care to expound upon the 'historical fact' of which you speak?

Violent Pacifist · 07-16-2006, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Bowzer

Care to expound upon the 'historical fact' of which you speak?

I can't remember all of the details to the papers I've read and the documentaries that I've watched two years ago and the Discovery Channel's shows on this, but the gist of them is that we are not descendants of neanderthals and that the neanderthals died out because they were not as adaptable as our ancestors were. But, I will also say that these documentaries did state that a few people do believe that we could have mated with neanderthals and that their descendants may live on to this day.

King Bowzer · 07-16-2006, 05:42 PM

I can easily agree with the first part. As for the second part -- the part about mating with Neanderthals, and thus sharing some of their genes, I find rather difficult to accept. Even if a few humans did mate with the Neanderthals, you'd have to wonder about their children being sterile. Which is probably what happened, if, in fact, humans mated with Neanderthals.

Of course, DNA mapping could resolve the issue of whether or not humans
share Neanderthal DNA. I believe it's already been shown that humans don't share a great deal of common genes in their mitochondrial DNA as would suggest they descended from Neanderthals. I've also been told that mitochondrial DNA doesn't contain a lot of information, not nearly as much as chromosomal DNA does. And the last guy who mapped chromosomal DNA of Neanderthals had a hard time getting samples, and could only sequence about 50-70% of the DNA. Even then, he couldn't find evidence of humans and Neanderthals sharing genes.

Violent Pacifist · 07-16-2006, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Bowzer

As for the second part -- the part about mating with Neanderthals, and thus sharing some of their genes, I find rather difficult to accept. Even if a few humans did mate with the Neanderthals, you'd have to wonder about their children being sterile. Which is probably what happened, if, in fact, humans mated with Neanderthals.

Of course. But, xenophilia and psychology aside, if the two species did mate it is possible that our genetics were similar enough to produce offspring that had the capacity of child birth. I don't really know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Bowzer

Of course, DNA mapping could resolve the issue of whether or not humans
share Neanderthal DNA. I believe it's already been shown that humans don't share a great deal of common genes in their mitochondrial DNA as would suggest they descended from Neanderthals. I've also been told that mitochondrial DNA doesn't contain a lot of information, not nearly as much as chromosomal DNA does. And the last guy who mapped chromosomal DNA of Neanderthals had a hard time getting samples, and could only sequence about 50-70% of the DNA. Even then, he couldn't find evidence of humans and Neanderthals sharing genes.

I don't know either. I barely passed biology for the second time.