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Another Perspective
Return of Neanderthal
What was he thinking 450,000 years ago?
That fellow across from you on the subway. Strange look to him. Undershot jaw. Protruding nose.
Short legs. It would be unkind to look too hard, let alone say anything. You let it go, not knowing that you have had passing contact with a recently-cloned species that our ancestors shared several thousand years with before homo sapiens over-propagated, ate all the chow, and forced Neanderthal to retreat to places where our contemporaries are removing their remains from caves and graves.
Graves? Yes, the best thinking is the Neanders began the practice of burial of the dead which was adopted by the homos. What else remains to be learned from them may be locked within the brain of that stranger on the subway.
It is possible in the not-too-distant future for science to unlock the few remaining secrets of the Neanderthal genome, to create cells containing their DNA and through a process of pluripotentcy come up with the real thing. The Max Planck folks in Leipzig and 454 Life Sciences in Connecticut have come close to re-creating the essence of a woman who died in a Croatian cave 30,000 years ago.
The processes of sequencing would retrace and undo something that happened some 450,000 years ago, when Neanderthals departed the homo sapiens lineage and went off on their own: larger brains, more efficient tools, more muscle. How different are they? Perhaps no more than some of us differ from our contemporaries.
As large as the scientific challenge is the moral one. In the summer of 2005 the United Nations voted to ban human cloning. A non-binding ban. Under most current laws, genomes can be patented, which could offer the lawyers of this earth enough grist to last until we are living in another galaxy. Think for a moment of the ethics of re-creating a being long-thought deceased? When the Neanderthal left to develop on his own, the one thing he developed was a brain somewhat larger than those old homos. What do you suppose a differently thinking being could bring to current thought?
If ever I see that fellow on the subway, would it be out of order to ask him what his ancestors did with snow 450,000 years ago?
About the Author
Reid Collins is a former CBS and CNN news correspondent.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (52) | Leave a comment
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Neanderthal| 2.25.10 @ 2:14AM
Return of Neanderthal
Mankind has always greedy
Look at those politicians
http://www.udtek.com/car-charger-c-7.html
Shamus| 2.24.10 @ 8:28AM
Be nice now. You're talking about my Congressman.
Paul D| 2.24.10 @ 4:35PM
Yeah, politics. So easy even a Caveman could do it!
Alan Brooks| 2.24.10 @ 9:01PM
Even an attorney can do it.
Jeff R| 2.24.10 @ 8:37AM
As to the intriguing question: Did Neanderthals and homo sapiens ever interbreed, the jury remains out. Some scientists conjecture that should interbreeding have occurred, there would have been enough difference between the two species that the offspring would have been sterile. Thus, there would be no living descendents of Neanderthal/homo sapien unions. The physical characteristics of some of our fellow homo sapiens may remind us of Neanderthals - knuckle-dragging liberals, for instance - but the chances are those characteristics are traced back further in homo sapien lineage, and not due to trysts between the two species.
I'd be more interested in knowing if Neanderthals would have made could football linemen. Though short and squat, they were powerfully built. Physically, they were tough hombres.
Tim| 2.24.10 @ 8:55AM
Dr. Ian Malcolm: God help us; we're in the hands of engineers.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/quotes
Glen| 2.24.10 @ 10:34AM
Nice reference, but better engineers than politicians!
Tim| 2.24.10 @ 11:18AM
Is this one better?
"Dr. Ian Malcolm:
Don't you see the danger, John, inherent in what you're doing here? Genetic power is the most awesome force the planet's ever witnessed, yet you wield it like a kid that's found his dad's gun. "
Otis, my man!| 2.24.10 @ 9:27AM
Neanderthals evolved into Homos? That explains a lot...
Tony in Central PA| 2.24.10 @ 9:28AM
Cloning Neanderthals ? What a dumb idea. My degree in Molecular Biology is over 20 years old, but I remain very skeptical that something like this could ever be accomplished.
Maybe this idea is a symptom of Western Man's Search for Himself. We have become so incomprehensible to ourselves that we have to figure out a way to revive a long - lost cousin of our species ( with a bigger brain ! ) to tell us who we are. Ugh !
Al Adab| 2.24.10 @ 3:04PM
Of course clone them. They could do the jobs Americans won't and would be glad to get three squares and a cot.
Who are we kidding?
ncatty| 2.24.10 @ 9:41AM
They needed 5000 calories a day compared to our 2000. They used a heavy stabbing spear and had to get in close to the mammoth. We could stand off and toss projectiles. We reduced the mammoth population but could adapt to other food sources. They couldn't. Thank goodness there are none left or we would be facing a claim for reparations.
Stuart Koehl| 2.24.10 @ 10:07AM
That's "homi", not "homos", Reid. Homos invented something else, I think.
Ned| 2.24.10 @ 11:02AM
I once worked in the coal mines with a guy who was built and looked very much like a slightly evolved Neanderthal man. We called him Monster. Only his looks fit the nickname, if his personality had matched the name we all would have been killed and probably eaten by him. His intelligence wasn’t obvious at first glance, but after knowing him awhile, and becoming his friend, I learned he was indeed a very intelligent man.
He was a weight lifter, though I suspect lifting weights was unnecessary for his natural build. He was one of the few weight lifters I have known who would actually use his acquired strength for work rather than looks.
He would bring beef hearts and other assorted animal organs to eat for lunch. He would cook his food in tinfoil on our makeshift kitchen’s stove. He was the toughest and strongest person I have ever known. One time he carried a hydraulic shear-jack for a continuous mining machine over his shoulder more than 2000 feet into our working section. I don't know the exact weight but I think it was at least 350 pounds.
He had two weaknesses, he was deathly afraid of mice, and if it is a weakness he was to kind, decent and understanding of our immaturity. (Fortunately for his tormentors)
Perhaps this was the original Neanderthal man’s undoing. He was to kind and understanding of a more intelligent and aggressive species. Physically he could eat us for lunch but the human trait of decency was to strong in him to allow anger or violence directed at similar beings.
Big Leo| 2.24.10 @ 3:17PM
He sounds very much like my cousin Leo, who was the original Big Leo. He was a wonderful man. He was very peaceful, since nobody in their right mind would ever attack or annoy him. He ran a construction business, but worked in it every day because he relished the physical work. Compared to him, I should be called middling large Leo, and I only hope my heart was as great as his was. If Neanderthals were like The Original Big Leo, I'm living in the wrong age.
Tomas| 2.24.10 @ 11:08AM
The guy looks like Biden...
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coal carrier| 2.24.10 @ 11:12AM
Yes. Before the plugs.
FawnridgeFarm| 2.24.10 @ 12:35PM
What a disappointment, Mr. Collins! With a title like "Return of Neanderthal", I thought sure this article was a political essay regarding the forthcoming senatorial election in Nevada. After reading it, though, I'm even more confused as to why you would caption a piece about the Neanders with a photograph of Harry Reid........!
Just kidding, Mr. Collins! Keep up with your always excellent articles!
james wilson| 2.24.10 @ 1:35PM
Your statements are extremely misleading. Neanderthal did not depart from a Homo Sapien lineage, Homo Sapien departed from his.
The science is in fact out. The DNA was far different. Further, no Homo Sapien male would have considered raping a very unattractive female twice his strength, now or 50,000 years ago. What Neanderthal males would do I do not know, but a Homo Sapien female would likely not survive a rape, and no infant would be permitted survival in her group.
We are not all alike under the skin.
Gail | 2.24.10 @ 8:51PM
Sapiens is the singular form, the final s notwithstanding.
Al Adab| 2.24.10 @ 3:05PM
They are still around... selling Geico Insurance. So easy...
LS | 2.24.10 @ 3:33PM
Neanderthals went extinct because they went vegan.
ScottyP| 2.24.10 @ 4:43PM
Woops, thought this was an article about the formation of the Teabagger movement.
dixiedrifter| 2.24.10 @ 8:40PM
You're right, Harry Reid is a Neanderthal.
carlos lascoutx| 3.13.10 @ 9:41PM
...neander had a mind like a fallen angel, everything was connected, his brain almost matched the creator's, whoever she was,
he was not a specialist like the bulldogs
of today, he was a shepherd, a manager.
check out the mati mimati imattini word
string in rémi simeon's nauatl dictionary,
isbn 968-23-0573-x, to see what neander
and neandra were really like. they were
the first mimes=mimati(N).
Lizzie J | 5.20.11 @ 5:48AM
Think if you had grunted to the guy on the subway you may have just found out about the snow!
John Roberts | 5.20.11 @ 5:49AM
I knew a few neanderthals at school once- maybe one was on the subway with you.
Soulmates Site | 5.20.11 @ 5:51AM
Oh this reminds me of the clan of the cave bear books,they were brilliant.Bout time Jean Auel added the next in the sequel.
Cindy | 5.20.11 @ 5:53AM
Jean Auel has added no6 in the series very recently.
Theatre Breaks in London | 5.20.11 @ 5:55AM
Yes, Ive read it and she is a brilliant author- what research into neanderthals she must have done.
Universities in Virginia | 5.20.11 @ 5:56AM
Neanderthals would have made excellent linesmen..makes you wonder what was so wrong with their design that cro-magnons emerged so fast.
Jim S | 5.20.11 @ 5:58AM
Millions of years passed between these two 'species' evolvement I believe so it just didnt happen overnight.
Jayne A | 5.20.11 @ 5:59AM
personally I think hairy men are very attractive but maybe these guys might have been a little over the top.
Internet Dating Partners | 5.20.11 @ 6:02AM
Cavemen-The simplicity of going to bed when dark and waking up when light and no school- seok!
Petra Prussk | 5.20.11 @ 6:03AM
Why dont we just find some DNA and clone one-
3ds Blog | 5.20.11 @ 6:06AM
Petra, why would you want to clone a neanderthal?
From what I know , they did not have the ability to speak and could only undertake repetitious activities.
Pluri P | 5.20.11 @ 6:10AM
What the heck is pluripotentcy?
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