The Sixth Extinction: Chapter 12

Neanderthals were a sophisticates species that had several advancements, such as tools and clothes. To this day it’s unknown why the species went extinct but scientists have theorized that they were killed by homosapiens or they were unable to adapt to the change in temperature. In this chapter, Kolbert visits Das Neandertal in Germany were the first Neanderthal fossils were discovered. At first scientists believed that they were human fossils but through studying the small differences between their bone structure they were able to note that they belonged to a separate species. They were thought to be savage like creatures that were uncivilized and lacked many of the attributes of homo sapiens. This perspective didn’t change until after World War II, a group of scientists revisited the fossils and concluded that they were more similar to modern humans than they first thought. The new perspective revealed that Neanderthals weren’t uncivilized nor had a savage like appearance; they were actually sophisticated creatures. The study of Neanderthals continues today as scientists look for a way to compare their DNA with those of modern homo sapiens. The importance of this is to see the similarities with the DNA of neanderthals and homosapiens proving relevance since they once mated in the past. This ultimately means that humans today could have neanderthal genes but its meaning is yet to be known. This raises a bigger question, where do humans come from and what makes someone human? One theory is that humans come from Africa and as they moved up towards Eurasia where they mated with neanderthals. Since we know that people are all composed of different genetics that come from homo sapiens and Neanderthals, what a human is isn’t clear. Kolbert explains that humans are beings that are usually determined by the way they interact with each other socially. This idea made me think about feral children who are children that have been raised by animals as one of their own. These children grow up with no human contact and lack basic communicative functions. Can these kids who biologically are homo sapiens be considered humans?