Post by chillstar on Jan 1, 2024 22:17:52 GMT
Up until recently, the consensus was that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were separate species.
But most humans carry around 2% of Neanderthal DNA, challenging the view that we are different.
Other studies suggest Neanderthals weren't inferior to Homo sapiens and should be considered human.
Neanderthals have long been portrayed as dim-witted, brutish monsters who were genetically inferior to our direct ancestors, early modern humans.
These ape-like creatures spoke in grunts, were beset with illnesses, and died out 40,000 years ago after losing the evolutionary battle against Homo sapiens.
Or at least, that's what we've been told. Recent discoveries, however, are upending that view and reigniting a debate among scientists about whether Neanderthals should be considered to be the same species as early modern humans.
If Neanderthals belonged to our species, it could reshape the history of human evolution and challenge how we define what makes us human.
Most of us have some Neanderthal DNA
The first fossils of Neanderthals were identified almost 200 years ago. By now, you would think scientists would have made up their minds about whether they should be defined as a separate species from Homo sapiens.
But it turns out this is a matter of fierce debate, Antoine Balzeau, a paleontologist from the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in France, told Business Insider.
"When we were at first discussing the fossils in the 19th century, there was no real debate about specific species or not, simply because at the time, humans were seen as a species but by default," he said. Read (here)
