3 ms·
The taxonomy of archaic humans is debatable to say the least so "we are only the ones left" may just be an artifact of 19th century anthropology and prestige ch
by throwup238 3y ago
The taxonomy of archaic humans is debatable to say the least so "we are only the ones left" may just be an artifact of 19th century anthropology and prestige chasing. Realistically the genetic variation between the average human and Neanderthals is only about twice the variation within the modern human gene pool. Compared to our nearest primate at 10-50x the difference depending on how you measure.
Given the number of genetic bottlenecks we have evidence of in our past, we may all be the same species and the modern human is just the last surviving group of inbred Homos.
- zoklet-enjoyer 3y ago[flagged]
- pavlov 3y agoIsn’t “genetic bottlenecks” another way of saying that intelligence has a poor track record of surviving?
- kombookcha 3y agoNot really - genetic bottlenecks aren't a feature of intelligent animals, it's a feature of a population that's undergone some kind of very dramatic pressure event like catastrophic loss of habitat or mass illness. Bottlenecks are more likely to be an issue for species with a limited range, population and a slim range of survivable conditions. Intelligence has a way of expanding those ranges by making you more equipped to access otherwise inaccessible resources. Think of elephants navigating between watering holes during droughts, crows using tools to fish out hard to get food, or orcas using sophisticated hunting techniques to get at prey they otherwise could not. Intelligence adds flexibility, and flexibility is especially useful under pressure.
- mjfl 3y agowhich implies that there are humans alive that are genetically as far apart from each other as the average human was from the average neanderthal (i.e. statistically there probably exists humans who's separation from each other is twice the average distance).