reply to post by JoshNorton
Not necessarily. Here's a wiki article on ligers, which are hybrid lions and tigers. There is another variety called a tigon. The nomenclature is
based on patrilineal versus matrilineal parentage. One variety is sterile, the other is not. In my research, I've seen the assertion made many times
that hybrids would necessarily be sterile, but all that is required is one example in nature of fertile hybrid offspring to disprove the assumption.
Here it is.
Liger at Wikipedia
Here are two more articles related to implications of Neanderthal/Sapiens breeding on modern brains...
The Neanderthal Autism Theory
Evidence that the adaptive allele of the brain size gene microcephalin introgressed into Homo
sapiens from an archaic Homo lineage
I think that many of the assumptions we make about Neanderthal culture and mentality are based on researcher biases, and there again, many researchers
don't know what you and I know.
For example, Neanderthal tools have recently been found in Sussex which actually are of superior craftsmanship to the tools found with contemporary
"moderns". This belies the commonly-held notion of Neanderthal's slow wit. Also, flower pollen has been found at Neanderthal burial sites,
indicating the capacity for symbolic thought - something that many do not want to believe. Why not?
There are tell-tale signs that I have encountered peripheral to Neanderthal research which might indicate that there is... resistance... to the
changing understanding of Neanderthal. And that, of course, suits my burgeoning theory.
[edit on 3-7-2008 by applebiter]
[edit on 3-7-2008 by applebiter]