The Caveman Inside Us
Wow. I didn't realize how much that title sounds like a porn movie until I wrote it. Ha! I'm going to leave it, though.
I was thinking about the primal appeal of a bonfire yesterday, and that put me on the thought path of our ancestors. I was thinking about this article from earlier in the year. It discusses the possibility that our distant human ancestors might have mated with neanderthals. (Voluntary or not, the offspring would have to have been accepted into society in order to continue the DNA line, right?)
Not only that, but there are some other hominid species we've apparently added to our DNA. Again, it's not clear whether that was a willing or unwilling addition. But again, at least the children were accepted into society enough to pass those genes on.
Apparently, new studies have shown that the neanderthal (and other species) did not simply die out, as we were all taught in science class as a child, the backwards half-cousin of humans. But, they had some interaction with humans--enough to produce children and pass on neanderthal genes. There are several commercial labs now that will test your DNA and let you know what percentage is neanderthal.
If that's something you would be interested in. I don't know that knowing that has any practical implications, but it is interesting to see how humans spread across the world, absorbing other human-like species. It would be interesting to know where exactly your ancestors came from.
My ancestors--at least my recent ones (from about the 1500's on)--were very much like those early humans, in spirit. They went to new countries and married and produced offspring there. By the time they got to the melting pot of America so they could stir in some Cherokee, they were already multi-faceted in terms of DNA. I would not be surprised at all if that genetic blending tendency went back even further in our history and we also had some neanderthal.
Of course, anyone who's been to a family reunion would not be surprised either.
I was thinking about the primal appeal of a bonfire yesterday, and that put me on the thought path of our ancestors. I was thinking about this article from earlier in the year. It discusses the possibility that our distant human ancestors might have mated with neanderthals. (Voluntary or not, the offspring would have to have been accepted into society in order to continue the DNA line, right?)
Not only that, but there are some other hominid species we've apparently added to our DNA. Again, it's not clear whether that was a willing or unwilling addition. But again, at least the children were accepted into society enough to pass those genes on.
Apparently, new studies have shown that the neanderthal (and other species) did not simply die out, as we were all taught in science class as a child, the backwards half-cousin of humans. But, they had some interaction with humans--enough to produce children and pass on neanderthal genes. There are several commercial labs now that will test your DNA and let you know what percentage is neanderthal.
If that's something you would be interested in. I don't know that knowing that has any practical implications, but it is interesting to see how humans spread across the world, absorbing other human-like species. It would be interesting to know where exactly your ancestors came from.
My ancestors--at least my recent ones (from about the 1500's on)--were very much like those early humans, in spirit. They went to new countries and married and produced offspring there. By the time they got to the melting pot of America so they could stir in some Cherokee, they were already multi-faceted in terms of DNA. I would not be surprised at all if that genetic blending tendency went back even further in our history and we also had some neanderthal.
Of course, anyone who's been to a family reunion would not be surprised either.
posted by Patwoman | 6:00 PM
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