Archaeology Webinar Series III: Neanderthals and Us: Kissing Kin or Adversaries?

Join us on Zoom for the opening lecture of our 3rd Archaeology Webinar Series at DSA - ASIA:

Neanderthals and Us: Kissing Kin or Adversaries?

Jeffrey H. Schwartz, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor

Depts of Anthropology and History & Philosophy of Science

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh PA 15260

Abstract

Although claims of frequent Neanderthal-human interbreeding always make the news, the question is: Is this supported by morphological, paleontological, or molecular evidence? Were Neanderthals and contemporaneous Homo sapiens in frequent proximity? Or even in the same geographical regions? Would males of one species and females of the other have even crossed paths? And if they had, would males or females of Neanderthals and of Homo sapiens have even perceived the other as potential mates? I doubt it. Neanderthals and contemporaneous Homo sapiens were so morphologically different they would likely have reacted to the other in disbelief, if not fear and repulsion. Further, there is mounting evidence that intersecting Neanderthal groups engaged not only in violence, but in cannibalism. Since “fear of the other” (xenophobia) still characterizes human behavior, it would probably have been magnified if members of each these two species had met up. As for DNA, a major question is: Are the similarities molecular anthropologists claim demonstrate Neanderthal-human interbreeding uniquely shared by the two species? I doubt this, too. First, all DNA typically degrades by 100,000 years – which is why molecular anthropologists have not been able to extract DNA from most of the fossils we know and will never be able to do so for the vast majority of specimens that will be discovered in the future. Second, since we will never know the full picture of any group’s evolution, we will never know how many species of human relatives existed. Together, this means we can never demonstrate that the bits and pieces of DNA Neanderthals and humans share were not also part of the genomes of other human species, and thus not reflective of an evolutionary or sexual intimacy between the two species.

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