Satan's Evil Twin Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Chinese human fossils unlike any known species 15:00 14 March 2012 by Colin Barras For similar stories, visit the Human Evolution Topic Guide And so it begins. For years, evolutionary biologists have predicted that new human species would start popping up in Asia as we begin to look closely at fossilised bones found there. A new analysis of bones from south-west China suggests there's truth to the forecast. The distinctive skull (pictured, right) was unearthed in 1979 in Longlin cave, Guangxi Province, but has only now been fully analysed. It has thick bones, prominent brow ridges, a short flat face and lacks a typically human chin. "In short, it is anatomically unique among all members of the human evolutionary tree," says Darren Curnoe at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The skull, he says, presents an unusual mosaic of primitive features like those seen in our ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago, with some modern traits similar to living people. What's more, Curnoe and Ji Xueping of Yunnan University, China, have found more evidence of the new hominin at a second site – Malu cave in Yunnan Province. Curnoe has dubbed the new group the Red Deer Cave people because of their penchant for venison. "There is evidence that they cooked large deer in Malu cave," he says. Muddled tree Exactly where the Red Deer Cave people belong in our family tree is unclear. Curnoe says they could be related to some of the earliest members of our species (Homo sapiens), which evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago and then spread across Asia to reach China. He prefers the idea that they represent a new evolutionary line that evolved in East Asia in parallel with our species, just as Neanderthals did – primarily because they look very different to early African hominins. There are other possible interpretations. Chris Stringer at the Natural History Museum in London, says their distinctive primitive features might suggest they are related to the enigmatic Denisovan people, known from a 30,000 to 50,000-year-old finger bone and tooth found in a Siberian cave. We know that the Denisovans were living in East Asia, and from a DNA analysis, that they mated with our direct ancestors. The Red Deer Cave people, says Stringer, could even be the product of that mating. Long-standing people Although we still do not know exactly where they came from, we do know that the Red Deer Cave people survived until relatively recently. Some of the newly described fossils are just 11,500 years old, suggesting that unlike Neanderthals they made it through the height of the last ice age. They might not have been the only ancient humans to survive so late, says Michael Petraglia at the University of Oxford. We already know of human skeletons with unusual archaic features in south Asia and India that are just 8000 years old. The next step is to analyse DNA extracted from the Red Deer Cave bones, which will tell us more about their owner's evolutionary history – whether they mated with any other hominins, for instance, and if they are truly a new species that evolved entirely in East Asia, as Curnoe believes, or are off-shoots of the Denisovan people. Curnoe says an initial attempt to extract good DNA from the fossils failed. "We are doing more work now involving three of the world's major ancient DNA laboratories," he says. "We'll just have to wait and see if we're successful." http://www.newscient...wn-species.html Cool beans. Blows my mind that while first civilizations in Mesopotamia were being being born, further east a cousin to our species was going extinct. I wonder what our world would be like had the Neanderthals and Denisovans not died out, and other Homo species for that matter. Not that I have any reason to think it would be any different from today, as modern humans have Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA. The Russian and Korean scientists are cloning a mammoth, would anyone have a moral issue with cloning an extinct human species? I sure as hell wouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugemanskost Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Impossible! God created the earth and heavens only 6 000 years ago, people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire_Spiky Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 It would be unreal if they we're able to clone an extinct Homo species. Just to see how developped there brains would be and if they would have the capacity to learn like we do. Very interesting stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhinogator Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 It would be unreal if they we're able to clone an extinct Homo species. Just to see how developped there brains would be and if they would have the capacity to learn like we do. Very interesting stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Evil Twin Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Genetic Studies of Modern Populations Show Varying Neandertal Ancestry Mon, Mar 12, 2012 Research is revealing evidence that sheds new light on the genetic relationship between the ancient Neandertals and modern humans. The complex world of human genetics research speaks a language unfamiliar to most of us, but it has opened up a new window on our understanding of the dynamics of ancient populations; and few areas of research have been more tantalizing than that surrounding the questions of how modern humans are related to the Neandertals, an ancient species of human whose morphology or physical characteristics disappeared from the human fossil record roughly 30,000 years ago. The most recent studies have provided evidence about when the Neandertal (Homo neandertalensis) and modern human populations (Homo sapiens) first diverged from a common ancestral population. They have also suggested that Neandertals and ancient modern humans interbred, and that some distinct modern populations have more Neandertal ancestry than others. In a 2010 benchmark study conducted by a consortium of scientists and institutions, researchers compared and analyzed a Neandertal genome constructed from samples taken from the bones of three Neandertal individuals excavated at the Vindija Cave in Croatia. A genome is an organism's complete hereditary information as encoded encoded in DNA. They compared the genome with modern human genomes from a sampling of present-day human groups from different parts of the world. What they found was a number of genetic variants in regions along the genome that both Neandertals and modern humans shared as a result of positive natural selection, "including genes involved in metabolism and in cognitive and skeletal development". [1] The evidence suggested some additional conclusions. One of them deals with the long-standing debate about when modern humans and Neandertals diverged in the time-line of evolution. Examination of the new data now indicates that the split took place between 270,000 and 440,000 years ago, "a date that is compatible with some interpretations of the paleontological and archaeological record" and a common ancestor that lived within the last 500,000 years. [1] Equally significant is the answer they found regarding how the Neandertal genome variants ended up in the modern human genome in the first place. "A challenge in detecting signals of gene flow between Neandertals and modern human ancestors," state the study authors in the report, "is that the two groups share common ancestors within the last 500,000 years, which is no deeper than the nuclear DNA sequence variation within present-day humans. Thus, even if no gene flow occurred, in many segments of the genome, Neandertals are expected to be more closely related to some present-day humans than they are to each other. However, if Neandertals are, on average across many independent regions of the genome, more closely related to present-day humans in certain parts of the world than in others, this would strongly suggest that Neandertals exchanged parts of their genome with the ancestors of these groups." [1] In other words, if there are differences in the degree to which different geographically dispersed present-day population groups show Neandertal ancestry, this would suggest that Neandertals and ancient modern human ancestors interbred. *We performed this test using eight present-day humans: two European Americans (CEU), two East Asians (ASN), and four West Africans (YRI) We find that the Neandertals are equally close to Europeans and East Asians....... However, the Neandertals are significantly closer to non-Africans than to Africans." [1] The researchers' best explanation for these findings is that the Neandertals exchanged genes with the ancestors of non-Africans. Eurasian Neandertals interbred with ancient modern humans. But, the study authors continue, "the actual amount of interbreeding between Neandertals and modern humans may have been very limited, given that it contributed only 1 to 4% of the genome of present-day non-Africans". [1] What is more, they were able to determine the relative time in which the mixing began: A striking observation is that Neandertals are as closely related to a Chinese and Papuan individual as to a French individual, even though morphologically recognizable Neandertals exist only in the fossil record of Europe and western Asia. Thus, the gene flow between Neandertals and modern humans that we detect most likely occurred before the divergence of Europeans, East Asians, and Papuans. This may be explained by mixing of early modern humans ancestral to present-day non-Africans with Neandertals in the Middle East before their expansion into Eurasia. Such a scenario is compatible with the archaeological record, which shows that modern humans appeared in the Middle East before 100,000 years ago whereas the Neandertals existed in the same region after this time, probably until 50,000 years ago. [1] Any canoodling, then, may have actually started before the two species encountered each other in what is now present-day Europe or West Asia. The picture becomes more complicated with later studies, which have shown some interesting new details. John Hawks, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, reports the results of a study of the comparison of East Asian region samples (Japanese, Han Chinese in Beijing, and Han Chinese originating in South China) with European region samples (Tuscans, British, Finn, CEU, and Spanish) taken from the 1000 Genomes Project in his weblog entitled The Malapa Soft Tissue Project. Here he concludes that "the Europeans average a bit more Neandertal than Asians", suggesting that "Europeans may have mixed with Neandertals as they moved into Europe, constituting a second process of population mixture beyond that shared by European and Asian ancestors". [2] More interesting still were the differences detected among the samples within each of the two regions. Within the East Asian region, the North China population was found to have more Neandertal indicators than the South China, and within the European region, the southern populations more than the northern, with the Tuscans having "the highest level of Neandertal similarity of any of the 1000 Genomes Project samples". [2] Hawks relates the results of research on African populations, as well, which also show variability. He points to the Yoruba people, a West African population, having significantly more Neandertal genome similarity than the Luhya, an East African population. "We now know from examination of genetic variation within Africa today," states Hawks about the possible implications, "that some of today's diversity can be traced to ancient population structure in Middle Pleistocene African populations. For example, Neandertals could be more closely related to some African populations than others today because Neandertals actually exchanged genes with some ancient African populations. Or Neandertals might have sprung from one African population among many who lived 250,000 years ago..........As we combine the archaic genome data with our growing picture of diverse lineages in Africa today, we may discover ancient populations that are not apparent archaeologically. Again, genetics is giving us a totally new picture of the diversity and population dynamics of ancient people." [2] Genome research continues to provide new findings through an expanding source of shared data, affording new details. Looking forward, Hawks asks the next question: "Which Neandertal-derived variants are shared between regions, and which are unique to one region?......Now, we have sequences capable of telling us much more." [2] http://popular-archa...dertal-ancestry We used to think Neanderthals were our ancestors, turns out they're our cousins, not unlike Chimps (though much closer). I wonder what physical features survived in us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvgeniMalkin Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 They have already done that. Just look around the general boston area, there are tons of examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hornet Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Cool beans. Blows my mind that while first civilizations in Mesopotamia were being being born, further east a cousin to our species was going extinct. I wonder what our world would be like had the Neanderthals and Denisovans not died out, and other Homo species for that matter. Not that I have any reason to think it would be any different from today, as modern humans have Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA. The Russian and Korean scientists are cloning a mammoth, would anyone have a moral issue with cloning an extinct human species? I sure as hell wouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 It would be unreal if they we're able to clone an extinct Homo species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbbyNucksFan Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 cool stuff for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugemanskost Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Bring back Freddie Mercury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Evil Twin Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Should scientists clone and recreate purebreed white people 1000 years from now, especially blue eyed blondes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 A little different, no? One being a whole other species that may have competed with us, the other being a 1000 year old human? To answer your question though, I don't see why not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Evil Twin Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Not really. Those ancient hominids were perfectly capable of breeding with us, so they were in fact the same species, just different subspecies, or race, to use a more politically correct term in applying to humans. Anyways, you don't see anything wrong with racial selection for this sort of thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 No, they are the same genus, not species. And racial selection? My answer remains whether it's regarding purebred white or black, oriental, American native, etc person. My question was in regards to bringing back an extinct, unique, non-Homo Sapien species of human, how does it relate to what you're asking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Also, I wonder if the different physical traits of the races we have today are inherited from the various human subspecies that existed in their respective parts of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Evil Twin Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 If they are capable of producing fertile offspring with us, then they are the same species. Perhaps just a bit farther apart in genetics than the races as we know them today. And as mentioned in your own article, no, they are not extinct. They've been absorbed and mixed into the modern human gene pool, albeit as a small percentage thereof. The same is bound to happen to the races we have today, therefore the same question can apply to them sometime in the far future. Whether I approve of it or not, as long as there is sexual demand for them, traits like blond hair and blue eyes will be perpetuated, whether it's through cloning, genetic modification or selective breeding (DNA says brunette...abort). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 No. Modern humans are of the species Homo Sapiens, neanderthals are of the species Homo Neanderthalensis, and in the future with more evidence, this new species will be called appropriately. They are not extinct in the same sense as neanderthals are not extinct. That is, they are extinct, but some of their genes make up 1-10% of modern humans, depending on the region. Just as a Smilodon may have passed on its genes to modern day tigers or other great felines, it is still an extinct species. If humans evolve beyond Homo Sapiens Sapiens into Homo S3 or some other new species, then your assertion that the question applies will be correct. As it stands, there are big differences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddhas Hand Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 great read . for people interested in this topic , the book , guns , germs and steel is well worth reading . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajusta Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 would anyone have a moral issue with cloning an extinct human species? I sure as hell wouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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