Did we kill all other species?
Did we kill and eat all other humans?
Around about 200,000 years ago there were perhaps 6 different human types around. Even by 40,000 years ago, a wink in time, there were perhaps 3 different human types. Then all others disappeared in another wink or less than a wink.
From George Moromisato on Quora:
"We don't know the full answer. But going back to our evolutionary canon, we know two things: (1) Two separate populations can evolve separately, and (2) a species can go extinct if another species out-competes it.
"Imagine that Neanderthals were living happily in Europe while Homo Sapiens was in Africa. Two separated populations can evolve into different species.
"But what if, as Homo Sapiens evolved and learned to live in colder climates, it began settling in Europe? Then the two populations would compete. Only one survived.
"Modern humans, with our big brains, fancy language, and social cohesion, probably evolved in Africa around 3,000 generations ago. Within 1,000 generations, far too short for evolution to compensate, we had spread to every continent on Earth except Antarctica. In an eye-blink we had conquered the world.
"The other hominid species, Erectus and Neanderthal didn't have a chance to evolve to out-compete us. And there was nowhere left for them to live."
-- https://www.quora.com/Is-it-possible-that-there-is-more-than-one-human-species-alive-now
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Alas, another species that was wiped out before they could evolve to compete with us are the troodontid theropods. 👽
-- https://unbelievable-facts.com/2015/08/dinosauroids.html
Karl, one answer except that Neanderthals produced weapons as good as H. Sapiens and may be responsible for some of the cave paintings.
There is one argument against accepted human evolution. We judge much on appearances. The earliest north Americans discovered look more like Caucasians than Amerindians but the latter and the former may be the same, just appearances change. Today, walking through a small town near me, I saw a few people who had different head shapes and might to later anthropologists be seen as a different species if dug up a thousand years from now.
Stanley Wilkin
My corollary to Moromisato's argument is that the other hominins didn't totally disappear. We are a hybrid species, with DNA from Neanderthals, Denisovians, and possibly other species.
- https://apnews.com/article/neanderthals-denisovans-genetics-dna-disease-e49cb7d939cfe5d583e7ed0af8751784
- https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/a-genetic-ghost-hunt-what-ancient-humans-live-on-in-our-dna
While that is true this relates to the horizontal nature of evolution not the vertical nature, so that the whales of the present continually evolve as whales not as separate species. They are still whales as butterflies are butterflies with numerous species. Human beings are constant as a species with variations. The distinction so far is habitation of different environments not exclusion to one. Homo heidelbergensis was exclusive to Africa but once it expanded, although there is a contradiction there, they became Neanderthal and Denisovan. Habitation of environments is the key not necessarily brain development, indeed the classical development trope.
If I am not mistaken, Neanderthal died out because of climate change and adaption. It seems there was intermarriage somewhere along the line, as I have Neanderthal DNA.
Susan,
With Neanderthal there were other possible reasons including the disappearance of big game, which it is thought they mainly hunted, and their small social groups limiting wide communication and lack of innovation. I am not convinced by the last point as many knapping inventions were Neanderthal. Competition with us may have worked against them because of human beings greater numbers.
Hi Stanley,
The extinction of humanoids was partly caused by climate change. Neanderthals were likely skilled in hunting large game, but climate change may have led to the extinction of these animals. It's likely that the people died from starvation. It is probable that Homo Sapiens had stronger connections in trade and agriculture. Survival depended on trading during periods of food scarcity.
Many excavations have been conducted to support the advancements of 'other' civilizations with expanded technologies. Extra-terrestrial conversations have increased in America. Susan
Susan
I tend to view social change or and evolution within the same package and the greater social development, even in the era of the Neanderthal, as crucial. H. Sapien societies were well developed from a fairly distant period indicated by art, a symbolic trend, and their ability to construct their environment. There has been a tendency to connect Neanderthal with cave paintings and its likely the two groups learnt from each other.
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