Discussion Board
How much of a Neanderthal are you?
You might find it interesting to think about what it would be like to coexist with another species of human. Or, maybe it is an idea you can’t even begin to envision. Either way, what serves as food for thought for us, was reality for our Homo sapiens ancestors. But they didn’t coexist with just one other type of human, there was a third in the mix: the Denisovans, a group that is now extinct.
The Denisovans populated Eastern Asia and they also interbred with early Homo sapiens. In fact, 3% to 6% of the genome of native Melanesians (from islands in the Pacific), Aboriginal Australians and some East Asian populations comes from Denisovan DNA. And recently, genetic analysis of a 90,000-year-old finger bone discovered in Siberia revealed the unique ancestry of the young female to which the bone belonged: she had a Denisovan dad and a Neanderthal mom, resulting in equal amounts of DNA from both types of ancient humans! See:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06004-0 (Links to an external site.)
https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2014/the-not-so-secret-life-of-our-inner-neanderthal/ (Links to an external site.)
There is no doubt that interbreeding among these three groups of humans has taken place. But there is scientific debate regarding just how closely related they actually are. Which of the following distinctions do you support?
- The three groups are distinct and represent separate species in the genus Homo.
- Since they are all able to interbreed, the three groups belong to the same species and should be categorized at subspecies level.
- More information is required to make a distinction.
- Something else.
- It doesn’t matter to me.
Make sure to support your stance with research and data from the literature and explain your reasonings.
A great link—Smithsonian link on human origins…lots of info:
https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence