Raindrop Drinkwater

How can you be so sure?

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Neanderthal 'face' found in Loire

Neanderthal body art hints at ancient language - life - 29 March 2008 - New Scientist

How Modern Were European Neanderthals?

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Briana Dawson

2% genetic difference??

Chalice Yao

EEET.

Monkeys are not our species. Neanderthals are. They are humans. They are a different subcategory of humans, one that existed a long time ago, but they are humans.

Tyche Shepherd

Different species ... but same genus

There is plenty of evidence of higher functioning than any of the great apes, especially stone tool making and use of fire. A better analogy would be what rights would you grant to a newly contacted New Guinean tribe ?

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Merovigan

Life, Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species...the classification of all life on Earth.

Chimps are in the Pan genus.

Humans are in the Homo genus, same as the Neanderthal.

If we use the scientific definition, they (Neanderthal) are the same thing as us.

If we use some other definition that you've made up, then they may not be.

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“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”

Frederick Douglas

Chalice Yao

If the familiy of all Homo are defined as a genus and any members of the same type of Homo are defined as a species, yes, same genus then :> I admit to not having studied the exact meaning of genus yet.

EDIT:

But I see that seemingly people can't agree on what a species is, still. One definition is biological distinctiveness, as you'd be able to distinctively place all modern humans into the same species seperate from Neanderthals, but another definiton is one of being able to breed (which I usually use). I'm rather sure we could breed with Neanderthals. Either way, same genus, depending on definition same species.

Merovigan

kinda, but we MADE this one so...different. Those tribes were there without us knowing it so how we deal with them is not couched in decades of science or millions of dollars.

Eirik

You're all homos.

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Beau Perkins

I think saying there will deserve full human rights is a bit extreme. We have no idea what the nature of these creatures will be. They can be cannibalistic beast for all we know.

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Beau Perkins

You all watch too many Geiko commercials

Chalice Yao

dot dot dot.

Erm.

if I raise my child to eat human flesh, it will do so. Just saying. And if you'd throw a toddler into the wild and it'd somehow manage to survive on itself, it probablyy wouldn't have that many qualms about it, either.

A neanderthal would probably have the same intelligence as one of 'our' young children. Chimpanzees already do.

Lucifer Baphomet

Neanderthals were the first humans to leave behind art.

they buried their dead, with flowers, and possessions in the grave.

They had the same stoneworking technologies as the Cro Magnons (us) when we arrived in europe.

Theres a good chance they were interfertile with us.

YOU are probably part Neanderthal yourself Beau.

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Briana Dawson

But cannibals still exist to this day. Are they less human?

There are still several civilizations on this planet that live in a manner the majority of us would find beasty. But they are still human.

So if they were not cannibalistic beasts would it be o.k.?

What if they could learn sign language and could communicate with you at the basic level of a 5 year old?

Merovigan

I'd go one further say we probably did.

Wait for it...

Rush Limbaugh, anyone?!

Lucifer Baphomet

Regarding the "were the Neanderthal, a subspecies of home sapiens, or a seperate species," question, the jury is still out on that.

There are experts who will advocate both views.

Briana Dawson

Hmm....

I am thinking more along the lines of Sean Hannity.

You're a Great American Merovigan.

Lucifer Baphomet

fossil evidence from Portugal would tend to support that

Redhead

With the new genetic evidence being found they are leaning very strongly towards separate species, so probably not human.

Beau is right, no human rights. After all, think about what a great slave race they would be!

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"Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words" Dorothy Parker.

Maddie Blaustein: the very definition of wit.

CrossingStyx

You mean like Jeffrey Dahmer?

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Why can't anyone explain to me why it's ok to ban smoking because it's a health hazard to non-smokers, but it's not OK to mark/identify people with STDs to prevent their transmission to people who aren't infected?

Merovigan

1. I'm still waiting for you to tell me what you meant when you said "STFUYWPOS" to me. PM me if you would, wouldn't wanna tangent the thread.

2. We should withhold human rights because they'd make good slaves? Is that your position? Is it supposed to be a joke?

Briana Dawson

I thought it meant:

Shut the fuck up you W--- piece of shit. (?)

I am stuck on the W part however.

Chalice Yao

As Tyche explained tho, all human beings needn't be in the same species of humans, but the same genus.

By the definition, Homo (Human) doesn't involve only one species :3

The comment wasn't sarcastic enough for you? ;P

Cindy Claveau

Neanderthals are related, but they belong on a different branch of the evolutionary tree from homo sapiens. So technically they're not human beings.

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Sometimes, "I hit it with my axe" is the best solution.

Merovigan

Oh...well that's not very nice, is it?

Lum Lumley

Wacky?