That’s a point of debate. The prevailing view is that Homo neanderthalensis is a distinct species.
Comment on Neanderthals wouldn't be considered a person under U.S law
ImWaitingForRetcons@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Not true, both modern humans and Neanderthals are subspecies of Homo sapiens.
ohulancutash@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
rockerface@lemmy.cafe 3 weeks ago
I was going to say, weren’t humans and Neanderthals interbreeding in some cases
Lumidaub@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Much more straight forward: we’re actually homo sapiens sapiens (twice, because we’re extra smart, y’know), they’re homo sapiens neanderthalensis.
rockerface@lemmy.cafe 3 weeks ago
That’s the criteria for distinguishing species and subspecies, though, isn’t it? If two specimen can produce non-sterile offspring, they’re the same species.
Lumidaub@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Oh that’s what you were saying, now I see. Yes, that’s usually true. I thought you were saying because modern humans have Neanderthal ancestors, we’re the same species.
shalafi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That’s what I was taught 35-years ago, but from comments I’ve read, I gather there’s a lot of disagreement in biology these days.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Species is a construct meant to impose a binary on a complicated reality. The division between us and Neanderthals was in the grey area. We were able to interbreed, and we did so, but it was absolutely nothing like when two groups of sapiens interact over a long period of time. You can’t separate the Gauls from the Romans in France for example. Racial separation requires heavy effort in homo sapiens, whereas we’re talking a few percentage points of Neanderthal DNA.