Mr. Callahan
24/08/18
In a small German valley in the 19th century, workers discovered the remains of a Neanderthal; since then, similar bones have been found in different parts of the world. Early scientists thought the bones belonged to a human being until, in the later decades, they realized that they were dealing with a different and similar species. After scientists studied Neanderthal DNA, they found that their DNA closely resembled human DNA. Even so, it was discovered that Europeans and Asians are more likely to have Neanderthal DNA than Africans; this is most likely because early humans bred with Neanderthals. This induces the question of what makes humans "human" and how different are we from our sister species. To test this question, scientists conducted tests with children and primates; the children and primates scores very similarly except in collective-problem solving, where the children scored higher. While visiting the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology, Kolbert meets Svante Paabo, director of the evolutionary genetics department, who theorizes that Neanderthals lacked qualities like ambition and curiosity and which is why they never conquered territory or crossed bodies of water. Another reason why humans have been more successful is our fast reproduction rate; with our rapid procreation and ambition, humans are at the top of the food chain.
The theme that resonated with this chapter was how science changes our understand of the world. As stated in the text, “A tiny set of genetic variations divides us from the Neanderthals, but that makes all the difference.” In essence, Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens are very connected species; although scientists in initially thought that Neanderthals were uncivilized and savages, it’s evident that they possess similar qualities to humans. Neanderthals are able to hunt, care for each other, and survivor injuries. Overall, I connected this passage to US history; historically, people have viewed black people the same way as Neanderthals: uncivilized and savages; it’s evident that humans like to differentiate themselves from each other and give themselves unique traits. I predict that if the Neanderthal did survive, they’d definitely experience discrimination and prejudice for being different.
No comments:
Post a Comment