Mike70
13-Feb-2009, 02:26 AM
that they were a distinct and intelligent species of human that most likely had the same capacity for speech and higher brain function as we do. the idea of them as "brutes" has taken another yet another and probably fatal blow. the recent research has also concluded that neanderthals and modern humans are indeed two seperate, distinct species and that despite sharing 99.5% (up to 99.9% in some neanderthal populations) of our DNA, there is no direct relationship between our two species and that there was most likely no interbreeding between the two.
crazy when you think of it, isn't it? at one time there were two (some anthropologists would argue 3) intelligent species of hominid alive at the same time and through certain advantages (very slight less than .5% genetically) our species came out on top.
the study also suggests that neanderthals were most likely fair haired, with red heads being the most common. just one of those weird factoids i find damn interesting.
also damned interesting to note that modern humans and neanderthals coexisted for thousands and thousands of years in europe with one another until something (call it what you will) tipped the scale in favor of homo sapiens. for my money, it had to be something on an intellectual level and not simply brute force. we know for a fact based on bone structure that neanderthals were far, far stronger than even a very strong human, so somehow the idea that humans "exterminated" neanderthals through warfare rings dubious to me.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7886477.stm
crazy when you think of it, isn't it? at one time there were two (some anthropologists would argue 3) intelligent species of hominid alive at the same time and through certain advantages (very slight less than .5% genetically) our species came out on top.
the study also suggests that neanderthals were most likely fair haired, with red heads being the most common. just one of those weird factoids i find damn interesting.
also damned interesting to note that modern humans and neanderthals coexisted for thousands and thousands of years in europe with one another until something (call it what you will) tipped the scale in favor of homo sapiens. for my money, it had to be something on an intellectual level and not simply brute force. we know for a fact based on bone structure that neanderthals were far, far stronger than even a very strong human, so somehow the idea that humans "exterminated" neanderthals through warfare rings dubious to me.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7886477.stm