Are Neanderthals and Homo sapiens the same species?

[admin]

Scientists have been vollying the question back and forth for more than a century.

Are Neanderthals and Homo sapiens the same species? : Read more

 

[Jerry Rioux]

I am neither an anthropologist nor a geneticist, so I may be way off. However, I can't help but think that the homo species is really a large gene pool. Depending on the mix of genes, this pool codes for us, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and other variations in humans going back probably to Erectus. The different sub-species primarily resulted from a combination of isolation and natural selection plus mutations within each group.

Take a look at dogs. Chihuahuas and Mastiffs are the same species, but are far more different from each other than we are from Neanderthals, or even Erectus.