Read this book called Elizabeth Kolbert. The Sixth Extinction. Picador. answer the question below :
Discussion: \”The Sixth Extinction\” (217-269) Chapters 11-13
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A Neanderthal and her baby
In the chapter titled \”The Madness Gene,\” Elizabeth Kolbert considers how and why Neanderthals disappeared:
Modern humans arrived in Europe around forty thousand years ago, and again and again, the archaeological record shows, as soon as they made their way to a region where Neanderthals were living, the Neanderthals in that region disappeared. Perhaps the Neanderthals were actively pursued, or perhaps they were just outcompeted. Either way, their decline fits the familiar pattern, with one important (and unsettling) difference. Before humans finally did in the Neanderthals they had sex with them. As a result of this interaction, most people alive today are slightly–up to four percent–Neanderthal. (237-9)
In fact, in March 2016, scientists published an article in the journal Science, and they showed evidence that human mating with Neanderthals \”took place multiple times over a 60,000 year period on several different continents.\”
Can you imagine any benefits early humans might have gained from their inter-breeding with Neanderthals? Can you think of reasons why the Neanderthals might have ultimately disappeared?
15 pts.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-study-details-interbreeding-ancient-humans-evolutionary-cousins-180958486/#mqbrQjeTfi2TfFmZ.99 (Links to an
