Re: Neanderthals horse or mule?

J.E.Hawcroft (J.E.Hawcroft@shef.ac.uk)
10 Oct 1995 12:40:40 GMT

I'm not sure I've understood you right. Do you mean neanderthals might be
a hybrid between H.s.sapiens and something else?
My personal feeling is that neanderthals are a solid, definite group.
However I'm pretty sure they could breed with H.s.sapiens. In fact there
are examples of neanderthals which show some modifications towards
H.s.sapiens-ism, such as Amud and St Cesaire. These have the beginnings
of a chin and a lesser supraorbital torus. Could these be the offspring
of mixed parentage? (They are often explained as transitional forms as
neadnerthals evolve towards H.s.sapiens but I don't believe in that).
It looks likely that both H.s.sapiens and neanderthals evolved out of
H.erectus independantly, the former in Africa and the latter in Europe
and the Near East. Does this mean they are seperate species (ie unable to
breed with each other)? Or could they be subspecies, different from each
other but able to interbreed?

Confused of Yorkshire