Neanderthal Frankenstein

Scientists Build 'Frankenstein' Neanderthal Skeleton
Scientists Build 'Frankenstein' Neanderthal Skeleton | Live Science see picture here (with credits and color coding info)Many here will know of my pet theory that neanderthals are the actual (pre)historic basis for the myths about dwarfs and trolls and ogres -- different enough from homosap in appearance (and probably in behavior) that mating would not likely be considered (reproductively isolated).questions abound. is this valid science or is it sensationalism? has no one really done this before? weren't neanders supposed to be bigger? will this skeleton of "Ferrassie-Kebara" man significantly change how we think of neanderthals?Enjoy.ps -- "Human Origins" forum methinks.

Looks like sensationalism to me. I thought that it was already well established that Neanderthals were strong, stocky people and that we did not descend from them. Its interesting that they put together a skeleton but I don't think much can be gathered from it that wasn't already known.

i'm relatively sure there is at least one recorded half-breed skeleton.

There was a skeleton, of a young female if I recall correctly, found in Spain that seemed to show some features characteristic of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans. Though this hinted at interbreeding I don't think anyone seriously suggested it was conclusive evidence.

yes some evidence that it happened on some occasions, but then the DNA evidence is that there was not a notable degree of sharing going on - DNA as different nearly as chimp from homosap - so interbreeding was not common. this would make the occasional hybrid no different than occasional hybrids between other closely related species.I wonder when we get to see the next "artist rendering" of what a neanderthal looks like based on this skeleton.

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

well no of course not. we'd notice if it was, i think.i've heard a suggestion that the red-haired gene comes from neanderthals. i never thought to look it up and see if there's anything to it.

ah ok.

quote:

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yes some evidence that it happened on some occasions, but then the DNA evidence is that there was not a notable degree of sharing going on - DNA as different nearly as chimp from homosap - so interbreeding was not common. this would make the occasional hybrid no different than occasional hybrids between other closely related species.

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That's the best description of the evidence so far. A Pre-mating reproductive barrier seems to be the mechanism in effect.In response to the whole, it has been a common interpretation that the neanderthal morphology was an adaption to colder climates. A squater, thicker body has a lower surface area to volume ratio which would reduce heat loss to the environment. A barrel chested, no waisted morphology would also fit into this scenario but would seem to limit locomotion. Perhaps this could have made neanderthals more of an ambush hunter, or they could have even used a modified version of "bufallo jumps".

hmm, wonder how it compares to Inuit skeletons then, which appear to have adapted in that direction as well.as far as interbreeding goes, I am reminded of a study done on male stickle-backs (fish the size of minnows) that showed that the longer they went without mating the more likely they were to attempt mating with things that looked less and less like female stickle-backs, even with sticks and the like (the study was joked about as a "we needed a study to determine that?" kind of thing - fascinating why you remember some things eh?).thus one can imagine (more or less) marginalized individuals of one or the other species engaging is such behavior.

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

lmao!

I think the find you're talking about is known as the Lapedo Child and is from Portugal rather than Spain. As far as I know there is still an ongoing debate as to whether it is really a modern human/Neanderthal hybrid or not. The idea is based entirely on morphology as they have been unable to extract DNA from the skeleton.

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Confused ? You will be...

my mom suggested to me that in none of the genetic studies (the mitochondrial etc origin and racial studies) was any neanderthal dna found in humans. while my mother is known to be wrong on occassion, she is a molecular major.

i'm nearly positive she's wrong on this one too.however, i don't suspect we WILL find neanderthal dna in mitochondrial origin studies, since we did not originate in neanderthals. we'll only find a small degree of interbreeding: the occasional stray gene.

*shrugs* anything is possible. cause boys are gross

no, boys are desperate because girls are mean.