Re: DISCOVER/Neanderthal/Homo Sap.
Harry Erwin (herwin@gmu.edu)
Mon, 04 Sep 1995 21:26:46 -0400
In article <hubey.810149748@pegasus.montclair.edu>,
hubey@pegasus.montclair.edu (H. M. Hubey) wrote:
> ghanenbu@inter.nl.net (Gerrit Hanenburg) writes:
>
>
> >>Are these differences as large as the differences between, say
> >>a dachshund and an Afghan Hound, or between a bulldog and a
> >>Kangal, or a chiuaua and a Great Dane ?
>
> >Are you suggesting we should compare the differences between Neanderthals and
> >modern humans with those between the different breeds of the highly
> >*artificially* selected domestic dog?Give me a break,Hubey!
>
>
> The fact is that the hotdog dachshund is a dog, just like the
> sleek and large Afghan hound. A bulldog is a dog, just like the
> Kangal. etc. Now explain why the "theory" that the Neanderthals
> and the Cro-magnons were a different species because of some
> bumps on the skull or some other small change in skull shapes
> doesn't operate with dogs.
>
> What makes artificial selection different. Does it work against
> the laws of genetics? Or does it merely speed things up in
> a specific direction according to the selector? Think carefully
> before you answer.
The evidence with regard to the Neanderthals is that in areas of
population overlap (early in Israel, late in Western Europe), we don't see
intermediates.
Artificial selection works fine. We do get preservation of deleterious
mutations (i.e., premature convergence), and we often run up against the
problem of lack of suitable variants later in the breeding process.
--
Harry Erwin
Internet: herwin@gmu.edu
Home Page: http://osf1.gmu.edu/~herwin (try again if necessary)
PhD student in comp neurosci: "Glitches happen" & "Meaning is emotional"
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