Skull shows possible human/Neanderthal breeding

[Marnie]

A 40,000-year-old skull found in a Romanian cave shows traits of both modern humans and Neanderthals and might prove the two interbred, researchers reported on Monday.

If the findings are confirmed, the skull would represent the oldest modern human remains yet found in Europe.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, will add to the debate over whether modern Homo sapiens simply killed off their Neanderthal cousins, or had some intimate interactions with them first.

DNA samples taken from Neanderthal bones suggest there was no mixing, or at least that any Neanderthal genetic contribution did not make it to the modern DNA pool.

But Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St. Louis has in the past found bones that he believes show both modern human and Neanderthal traits, and now he and colleagues have found a skull.

The skull, probably that of a teenager, has been dated to 40,000 years ago and shows many modern traits. But it also is a little flatter than most modern Homo sapiens, and exceptionally large upper molars more associated with Neanderthals.

"Such differences raise important questions about the evolutionary history of modern humans," said Joao Zilhao of the University of Bristol in Britain, who worked on the study.

It could be "evolutionary reversal" he said -- humans changing back into archaic forms.

"They could also reflect admixture with Neanderthal populations as modern humans spread through western Eurasia," Zilhao said in a statement.

"This mixture would have resulted in both archaic traits retained from the Neanderthals and unique combinations of traits resulting from the blending of previously divergent gene pools."

Modern humans are believed to have spread into Europe around 45,000 to 50,000 years ago, and had completely replaced the older Neanderthals by 30,000 years ago.

But that means at least 10,000 years of living side by side, and artifacts attributed to the more modern humans have been found at Neanderthal sites.

Neanderthals were also once designated Homo sapiens, although are a designated subspecies -- Homan sapiens neanderthalis. But some experts now designate them as a separate species -- Homo neanderthalis.

Zilhao, Trinkaus and colleagues examined the skull from the Pestera cu Oase, or the Cave with Bones, in southwestern Romania. It was mostly full of bones from cave bears but then the researchers found some human skull fragments.

They are the earliest modern human remains found in Europe, although last week researchers reported finding 45,000-year-old human artifacts in Russia south of Moscow.

From here.

[sweetycakes]

Per - leeeeeze!!

[SueZQ]

Oh pish!

[jeffnevins]

"Evolutionary reversal" takes the cake. Like cows into whales.

They should also explain where they get numbers like 40,000 every time they write these. Why not just say 400,000,000 years ago?

[Karen C.]

can you say N-e-p-h-e-l-i-m?? Gen 6:4

[Marnie]

can you say N-e-p-h-e-l-i-m?? Gen 6:4

[Guest Biblicist]

I believe it is proof of the modern day "Bigfoot" that everyone thinks is a myth. There is other proof of gigantopythicus. Whole skeletons, bones and the like. Hmmm, why would the secular scientific community hide that information??

[TomPJr]

A 40,000-year-old skull found in a Romanian cave shows traits of both modern humans and Neanderthals and might prove the two interbred, researchers reported on Monday.

If the findings are confirmed, the skull would represent the oldest modern human remains yet found in Europe.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, will add to the debate over whether modern Homo sapiens simply killed off their Neanderthal cousins, or had some intimate interactions with them first.

DNA samples taken from Neanderthal bones suggest there was no mixing, or at least that any Neanderthal genetic contribution did not make it to the modern DNA pool.

But Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St. Louis has in the past found bones that he believes show both modern human and Neanderthal traits, and now he and colleagues have found a skull.

The skull, probably that of a teenager, has been dated to 40,000 years ago and shows many modern traits. But it also is a little flatter than most modern Homo sapiens, and exceptionally large upper molars more associated with Neanderthals.

"Such differences raise important questions about the evolutionary history of modern humans," said Joao Zilhao of the University of Bristol in Britain, who worked on the study.

It could be "evolutionary reversal" he said -- humans changing back into archaic forms.

"They could also reflect admixture with Neanderthal populations as modern humans spread through western Eurasia," Zilhao said in a statement.

"This mixture would have resulted in both archaic traits retained from the Neanderthals and unique combinations of traits resulting from the blending of previously divergent gene pools."

Modern humans are believed to have spread into Europe around 45,000 to 50,000 years ago, and had completely replaced the older Neanderthals by 30,000 years ago.

But that means at least 10,000 years of living side by side, and artifacts attributed to the more modern humans have been found at Neanderthal sites.

Neanderthals were also once designated Homo sapiens, although are a designated subspecies -- Homan sapiens neanderthalis. But some experts now designate them as a separate species -- Homo neanderthalis.

Zilhao, Trinkaus and colleagues examined the skull from the Pestera cu Oase, or the Cave with Bones, in southwestern Romania. It was mostly full of bones from cave bears but then the researchers found some human skull fragments.

They are the earliest modern human remains found in Europe, although last week researchers reported finding 45,000-year-old human artifacts in Russia south of Moscow.

From here.

This whole article is from a false evolution bias...

They dated the bones by Crbon 14 dating which is proved false over and over, but they keep refering to it to prove their theories.

(for more info regarding carbon dating, see drdino.com. It is a great web site that shows the fallasies of evolution.

Another point is that they make up species like neanderthals to help prove their theory, but they are in fact just other human remains. Look at the Aboriginis in Australia....They look like Neanderthals, but are alive today. They are a secluded race, with a limited gene pool.

Some other instances occured when they found human remains next to ape remains and combined them into some kind of missing link, which was just human bones next to ape bones.

There were also giants a long time ago....Before Noah's flood, people lived longer and grew much bigger; everything did.

This is very interesting....for more info check out drdino.com

[yomotalking]

don't know why they use carbon dating if it is so inaccurate

[forrestkc]

It has been the prevailing theory for quite some time that Cro Magnon Man and Neanderthal man coexisted, that Cro Magnon Man out competed Neanderthal man and later, at least to a small degree, the two species did associate with each other, and possibly interbred.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal_i...ith_Cro-Magnons