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Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Is Man’s Best Friend the ‘Superweapon’ That Helped Humans Outcompete the Neanderthals?

It sounds like the plot of a Tolkien-inspired fantasy novel. But according to the current scientific consensus, this is actually our shared history: For most of the last 100,000 years, we were not alone. There were Homo sapiens, of course — our forefathers’ forefathers — but there were also “the others.”

Nowadays, modern humans are the only game in town. There are still chimpanzees and bonobos, but all the other walking-upright primates have gone extinct. The last Neanderthal vanished about 40,000 years ago; the last Denisovan 50,000 years ago. These are just educated guesses, however. There’s some evidence that smaller, isolated pockets of Neanderthals survived until 25,000 years ago, and the Denisovans might’ve persevered in New Guinea until just 15,000 years ago — and are still remembered in folklore and oral traditions. We just don’t have enough physical evidence to prove it. 
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-Adam

8 comments:

  1. Interesting concept. According to 23&me I have 73% more Neanderthal DNA in me than the average person. I also have 4 dogs which I am sure is way above the average person too.

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    1. You're probably not Ashkenazi, but they appreciate you giving them genetic markers for their database lol.

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  2. Fun story. My only gripe is the "scientific consensus." In real science, a consensus means nothing. I could give multiple examples of scientific consensus that were totally wrong. The safe and effective civil poision shot being recent instance.
    Just a chemist

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  3. I don't believe in darwinian evolution.
    But, I do believe Nothing Beats Having a Dog

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  4. What we know is minuscule compared to what we don't know

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  5. The thing about this idea is not the "scientific consensus" or archeological evidence, it's the fact that it comports with common sense. It aligns with what we observe about the relationship between dogs and humans.

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  6. AI-generated blather.
    a) I had DNA tests with two companies.
    Each confirms my heritage.
    I carry significantly more Neanderthal DNA than is traditional for other Northern European Heritage folk.
    .
    Our standard runs about 4% (four percent).
    Tests indicate I carry about 13% (thirteen percent) Neanderthal DNA.
    .
    Blond, blue, 6'3".
    I have five dogs.
    .
    b) The algorithm needs to be programmed to stop claiming we are extinct.

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