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This article repeatedly paints Neanderthals as a dead end. It has very recently (like last three months) been proved by genetic sequencing of Neanderthal remai

• spamizbad 16y ago
  > Most interestingly, it is convincingly argued that Neanderthal genetic contributions explain a sudden and profound explosion in technological sophistication of European and Asian cultures Convincingly argued? Not really. The Neanderthal's genetic imprint on "modern" Europeans and Asians is very limited, and is stated as such in the NYT article you cite. From what we've mapped so far, the DNA man retained from the Neanderthal is superfluous. There is also no anthropological evidence it gave Europeans or Asians any advantage. Also, wouldn't the distinct lack of Neanderthal-like qualities in modern Europeans and Asians be a strong indication that Neanderthal genetic traits were not very advantageous? If they were the "secret sauce" of the West and the East, one would assume their traits would manifest themselves in locations other than the "junk" portion of our genome.