New type of Ancient Human found- Descendants live today?

"A previously unknown kind of human—the Denisovans—likely roamed Asia for thousands of years, probably interbreeding occasionally with humans like you and me, according to a new genetic study."

I would like to bring to your attention to the Denisovans. news.nationalgeographic.com...

I find it fascinating that humans mated with Neanderthal man and now there is evidence that humans were mating with this newly discovered Denisovan line of upright homonids considered Neanderthal’s sister race. They were bigger than both humans and Neanderthals. DNA evidence now suggests that these Denisovans also bread with early humans. The fact that the hybrid offspring could reproduce means that they are NOT a separate race from humans…
Nor were the Neanderthals a separate race, genetically speaking, because they too could interbreed with us. See below:



(And now... a brief look at Neanderthal Man. Did humans mate with Neanderthals? Yes, they did.
You can read more about this in the following link
www2.ljworld.com... )

So why's that important?

from second source- "Neanderthal DNA is 99.7 percent identical to that of people, according to the analysis, which involved dozens of researchers. Something in the remaining 0.3 percent must make us unique."

“It’s not about understanding Neanderthals,” said genome biologist Ed Green, who led the study as a research fellow in Paabo’s lab and is now at the University of California at Santa Cruz. “It’s understanding us.”





What is it that makes us human when it’s now known that our ancestors mated with earlier or offshoot lines of it’s own nature?
What were the Neanderthals then? Who the hell is human here? And why is it that our ancestors seem like they really got around?

As we study and compare the DNA of Denisovan Man we now have even that much more to compare and contrast with our contemporary selves in order to glean understanding of our unique state...

I guess I should have called this "Ancient humans were really slutty" so that it would have got somebody's attention...

this is all speculation, they dont know that anyone interbred with anything.

from second source- "Neanderthal DNA is 99.7 percent identical to that of people, according to the analysis, which involved dozens of researchers. Something in the remaining 0.3 percent must make us unique."

Its the same with Apes, but that doesnt mean people had sex with apes........

This is why the whole missing link argument will never hold water.
the path to human is a Web of strings, not a chain of links.

Had there been a stronger barrier between regions, like larger deserts, or more mountains. There could have been many surviving Humans species alive today.

It also shows that speciation is not as cut and dried as people think.
Many people want someone to point to the exact date and time that one species turned into another.
I don't think it ever worked that way.
I think that while speciation was occurring, there were always opportunities for crossbreeding. And as time passed, that chance for viable offspring grew smaller and smaller. Even then, after all that time, and seperation...If the right pair of animals got together, there could be a chance of a viable hybrid.

Originally posted by ManBehindTheMask
this is all speculation, they dont know that anyone interbred with anything.

from second source- "Neanderthal DNA is 99.7 percent identical to that of people, according to the analysis, which involved dozens of researchers. Something in the remaining 0.3 percent must make us unique."

Its the same with Apes, but that doesnt mean people had sex with apes........

"We can now say that, in all probability, there was gene flow from Neanderthals to modern humans," lead study author Ed Green of the University of California, Santa Cruz, said in a prepared statement. news.nationalgeographic.com...

It seems that it's DNA related, as opposed to speculation, Man. And a tangled web of bloodlines.

Originally posted by spacedoubt
This is why the whole missing link argument will never hold water.
the path to human is a Web of strings, not a chain of links.

Had there been a stronger barrier between regions, like larger deserts, or more mountains. There could have been many surviving Humans species alive today.

It also shows that speciation is not as cut and dried as people think.
Many people want someone to point to the exact date and time that one species turned into another.
I don't think it ever worked that way.
I think that while speciation was occurring, there were always opportunities for crossbreeding. And as time passed, that chance for viable offspring grew smaller and smaller. Even then, after all that time, and seperation...If the right pair of animals got together, there could be a chance of a viable hybrid.

edit on 24-12-2010 by spacedoubt because: (no reason given)

Hi, Space. That makes a lot of sense. I've been trying to form a picture in my mind of man's beginning and I always find it so difficult. I see now it's because our history is like you say it is: a web of strings. The picture is just vast.

precedings.nature.com...

Some discussion on how this sample may be part of the modern human tree.

I find it fascinating that we now appear to have proof that we interbred with different 'branches' of humans and that up to 4% of the DNA in modern Europeans and Asians was inherited from Neanderthals.

Neanderthal DNA in humans

I'd like to know where this is supposed to fit with the Genesis creation story? In fact I'd like to know where Neanderthals and the Denisovans fit into the Bible at all?

Originally posted by Versa
I find it fascinating that we now appear to have proof that we interbred with different 'branches' of humans and that up to 4% of the DNA in modern Europeans and Asians was inherited from Neanderthals.

Eh, if you saw how messy the hominid family tree is, it wouldn't surprise you at all. There's all kinds of sibling and cousin branches. It's kind of like dogs and wolves and coyotes -- they'll interbreed with each other and successfully produce offspring.

I'd like to know where this is supposed to fit with the Genesis creation story? In fact I'd like to know where Neanderthals and the Denisovans fit into the Bible at all?

It would depend on which Christians you mention this to. Some feel that it's a creation story but is not history. Others would maintain that Adam and Eve are pure homo sapiens lineage and that the others were the giants and sinful people that were killed by The Flood.