"Clash of the Cavemen"

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Wed May 28, 2008 12:05 pm

Firstly Min you'd have to establish that the Neandertals were wiped out.

Post by **Minimalist** » Wed May 28, 2008 12:10 pm

Oh I think there are a few things that have to be established first. Not the least of which is were they separate "species" in the scientific meaning of the term. The program suggested that there was a virtually 99% genetic match betwen the two and we know there ar skeletal differences between the races today so the differences may be marginal.

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Wed May 28, 2008 12:17 pm

One puzzling thing about 'the ascent of man' Min is why there is only one species. (If you accept the Club view)
All other species steadily diversify, we have contracted, does this mean Homo is heading for extinction and ours is the sole remaining twig on the tree?

Ishtar · Post by **Ishtar** » Wed May 28, 2008 1:12 pm

Digit wrote:One puzzling thing about 'the ascent of man' Min is why there is only one species. (If you accept the Club view)
All other species steadily diversify, we have contracted, does this mean Homo is heading for extinction and ours is the sole remaining twig on the tree?

Not only that but we've been experiencing 'juvenlisation' for the past 30-40,000 years. That is, HSS males have been becoming attracted to younger and younger females who display juvenille characteristics.

We must be the only species that's going to breed itself out of existence.

Post by **Minimalist** » Wed May 28, 2008 1:46 pm

What?

I thought that was a plot by women to get older men to screw themselves to death.

I may have to re-think that, Ish.

Post by **Minimalist** » Wed May 28, 2008 1:50 pm

Digit wrote:One puzzling thing about 'the ascent of man' Min is why there is only one species. (If you accept the Club view)
All other species steadily diversify, we have contracted, does this mean Homo is heading for extinction and ours is the sole remaining twig on the tree?

Let's accept that as is just for the sake of argument. In the animal world speciation occurs as a result of isolation and some sort of stress on the organism. We're assuming that HSS spread rapidly acrorss the globe...and we can speculate that HE did as well.... so maybe individual groups did "isolate" themselves via distance but a) we can't be sure that they were ever totally isolated from the next group over and b) perhaps their intelligence allowed them to deal with the stresses through intellectual rather than physical changes?

Thoughts?

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Wed May 28, 2008 1:56 pm

Fits perfectly Min. Excellent!

Post by **Minimalist** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:03 pm

Just MHO but it seems that in order to cause evolutionary change an organism has to be reacting to something that does not kill it outright. So, just using a ridiculous example, in the case of a serious flood children will not be born with gills because their parents would not live long enough to conceive them. If the parents did get to high ground there would be no need (and thus no advantage) to having gills anyway.

Does that make sense?

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:32 pm

It does.

Post by **Minimalist** » Wed May 28, 2008 3:13 pm

Tell the OOA crowd, will ya!

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Wed May 28, 2008 3:34 pm

They won't listen!