by Marvin Lubenow
One hundred and fifty years have passed since the first Neandertal fossil individual was discovered in 1856 in the Neander Valley in Germany. Fossil remains of more than 490 Neandertal individuals have now been recovered. We should know them quite well. Not only do we have more fossils of them and more of their artifacts than of any other fossil group, but they also lived, allegedly, in the most recent times before modern humans. Yet to evolutionists, they are still mysterious, with many questions about them still unanswered.
To young-earth creationists, the Neandertals are not mysterious, but rather incredibly intriguing. We view the Neandertals as the fully human ancestors of some modern humans, probably some Europeans and western Asians, where the Neandertals lived. Hence, we creationists would refer to them as Homo sapiens sapiens, or as a sub-species of modern humans: Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. Either way, we believe that they would be fully capable of reproducing with modern humans if they were living today. They were a post-Flood, Ice Age people, specializing in hunting the large, grazing animals that were abundant towards the end of the Ice Age and afterwards.
When the Neandertals were first discovered, they were considered to be a separate species, Homo neanderthalensis. Since reproductive capability is on the species level, the significance of the original designation was that they were considered different enough from modern humans so as to not be able to reproduce with us.
In the 1960s, new studies on the Neandertals properly revealed that their skeletal distinctions were not that significant and they were given sub-species status with modern humans, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. That situation persisted until it became possible to study DNA in fossil bones. Based on this fossil DNA research, paleoanthropologists now claim that the Neandertals were a species separate and distinct from modern humans.
My study, showing that the Neandertals were fully human, will be in two parts. Part 1 deals with the DNA evidence. The DNA studies and their conclusions have serious flaws. The fact that most paleoanthropologists believe that the Neandertals were a separate species is irrelevant. Most of them also believe that the Neandertals were able to share genes with modern humans. The biblical word “kind” refers to a group of organisms that have/had the ability to mate with one another. Hence, we speak of organisms reproducing “after their kind,” and of “mankind” or “humankind.” The scientific word “species” (not a synonym of the biblical word “kind”) uses interfertility as part of its definition, but also involves elements beyond the scope of this paper. If the Neandertals were able to share genes with modern humans, they qualify biblically as being fully human. Obviously, this matter is beyond proof since fossils cannot reproduce. However, the fact that most evolutionary palaeoanthropologists believe that the Neandertals were able to share genes with modern humans is certainly significant.
In Part 2 we deal with the rich and very positive archaeological evidence demonstrating that the Neandertals were fully human. Their incredible hunting prowess, their mortuary (burial) practice, the designation of specific spatial areas in their dwellings, their tool kits (which include bone tools), and many other items testify to their full humanity. The cultural inventory of the Neandertals exceeds that of the extinct Tasmanian Aboriginals or of the people of Tierra del Fuego (described by Darwin on his famous voyage). None would dare call these people less than fully human.
Read more at - http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v1/n1/worthy-ancestors
To young-earth creationists, the Neandertals are not mysterious, but rather incredibly intriguing. We view the Neandertals as the fully human ancestors of some modern humans, probably some Europeans and western Asians, where the Neandertals lived. Hence, we creationists would refer to them as Homo sapiens sapiens, or as a sub-species of modern humans: Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. Either way, we believe that they would be fully capable of reproducing with modern humans if they were living today. They were a post-Flood, Ice Age people, specializing in hunting the large, grazing animals that were abundant towards the end of the Ice Age and afterwards.
When the Neandertals were first discovered, they were considered to be a separate species, Homo neanderthalensis. Since reproductive capability is on the species level, the significance of the original designation was that they were considered different enough from modern humans so as to not be able to reproduce with us.
In the 1960s, new studies on the Neandertals properly revealed that their skeletal distinctions were not that significant and they were given sub-species status with modern humans, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. That situation persisted until it became possible to study DNA in fossil bones. Based on this fossil DNA research, paleoanthropologists now claim that the Neandertals were a species separate and distinct from modern humans.
My study, showing that the Neandertals were fully human, will be in two parts. Part 1 deals with the DNA evidence. The DNA studies and their conclusions have serious flaws. The fact that most paleoanthropologists believe that the Neandertals were a separate species is irrelevant. Most of them also believe that the Neandertals were able to share genes with modern humans. The biblical word “kind” refers to a group of organisms that have/had the ability to mate with one another. Hence, we speak of organisms reproducing “after their kind,” and of “mankind” or “humankind.” The scientific word “species” (not a synonym of the biblical word “kind”) uses interfertility as part of its definition, but also involves elements beyond the scope of this paper. If the Neandertals were able to share genes with modern humans, they qualify biblically as being fully human. Obviously, this matter is beyond proof since fossils cannot reproduce. However, the fact that most evolutionary palaeoanthropologists believe that the Neandertals were able to share genes with modern humans is certainly significant.
In Part 2 we deal with the rich and very positive archaeological evidence demonstrating that the Neandertals were fully human. Their incredible hunting prowess, their mortuary (burial) practice, the designation of specific spatial areas in their dwellings, their tool kits (which include bone tools), and many other items testify to their full humanity. The cultural inventory of the Neandertals exceeds that of the extinct Tasmanian Aboriginals or of the people of Tierra del Fuego (described by Darwin on his famous voyage). None would dare call these people less than fully human.
Read more at - http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v1/n1/worthy-ancestors
