4 ms·
Ok, so what's the dividing line between human and a related hominin? We and neanderthals could and did cross-breed. Sure we could find a living example of somet
by causality0 5y ago
Ok, so what's the dividing line between human and a related hominin? We and neanderthals could and did cross-breed. Sure we could find a living example of something we've already classified as a different species, but are we certain that if we found living members of a kind we've never seen a fossil of we wouldn't just call them human and move on?
- incompatible 5y agoWe'd have to decide whether "human" means the genus "Homo", as the name implies, or just Homo sapiens.
- fy20 5y agoThe specific name (second part) of a species is somewhat subjective, and is used to describe behaviour or properties a given species has that can be used to differentiate it from another related species. That mostly works ok, but in some parts of the animal kingdom there are some areas where it really doesn't. If you discovered fossils of both a poodle and a mastiff would you categorise them both as canis familiaris?
- kuhewa 5y agoNot just the name, but the whole biological species concept can break down at times. I mean look at the wholphin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wholphin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wholphin which is a fertile hybrid between parents of different genera but it doesn't make much sense to call false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins the same species.
- smohare 5y agoIt’s pretty clear what human means in these contexts.
- kuhewa 5y agoIs it? Because even the scientists who study and have named new hominids seem to disagree at times
- incompatible 5y agoThere's even a term "archaic human" for the pre-sapiens varieties. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_humans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_humans