When We Met Other Human Species

[Uncle Joe]

[wryter2000]

1. Am I crazy?

Homo sapiens sapiens - us
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis - Neanderthal

The same species, different subspecies

Am I remembering this wrong?

[2naSalit]

2. Nope...

You are correct. There is one human species with multiple varieties, period. Haven't watched the video yet, not sure I want to looking at the title.

[wryter2000]

3. He keeps referring to "other human species."

That's why I turned it off and asked about this.

[2naSalit]

4. Got it. I think I would have done the same.

The othering of people based on characteristics of their variety type is basically racist. But the term as we know it, racist, is a misnomer since race is not a real thing. Ya know what I mean, I mean, ya know what I mean?

[wryter2000]

5. I know what you mean

I guess there is a taxonomic concept of race, but it doesn’t apply to our species.

[2naSalit]

6. That would be it, exactly.

[Random Boomer]

7. It's just not that simple

The line between species and sub-species is kinda fuzzy and always subject to change. Taxonomy is really an abstract concept we're trying to superimpose on nature, and our schema isn't always a precise fit.

For instance, wolves and dogs used to be considered separate species, now they're categorized as sub-species. They share approximately 99.9% of their DNA, which is more than enough commonality to enable cross-breeding. But even so, you can immediately tell when you're looking at a wolf versus a dog.

Humans share approximately 99.7% of their DNA with Neanderthals, so no, we're not the exact same species, but we're pretty close. Yet we're different enough that humans would have recognized that Neanderthals were "not us" upon running into each other.

[wryter2000]

8. Thanks, very informative

I didn't know that about wolves and dogs. Some dogs do look like wolves to me. But a daschund sure doesn't. Wolves must have a lot of genetic diversity.

I have a friend who has some Neanderthal DNA. I guess it turns up on those DNA tests you can order.