Humans and cavemen?

Question

I have a hobby about learning about Neanderthals. I have high-functioning autism and I am quite surprised to see people say that autistic people are descendants of the cavemen or have some of their DNA in them. Does this mean that I am a hybrid of a Neanderthal and a human? I battle a lot with behaving like a human around human. Does this account for Neanderthal behavior? Before you ask, I don't act like a monkey.

Answer 1

First of all, Anatomically Modern Humans and Neanderthals both lived in caves when they could find them. It beat sleeping in the snow. So, the term Cave Man should not be taken as a reference to Neanderthals, specifically.

Second, we know surprisingly little about Neanderthals with any degree of confidence. We certainly don't know "how they behaved." There is not much doubt, though, from examining their tool kit, that they were probably pretty much as intelligent as we Anatomically Modern Humans.

Third, we don't know if they constituted a seperate species, or simply a very distant branch. In other words, we don't even know if a product of interbreeding would transmit genetic material, or if the offspring would be sterile. It is very, very difficult to determine species difference just from the skeletons.

Fourth, there is some evidence to suggest that, yes, there may have been occasional interbreeding. However, as Neanderthal numbers decreased, any inherited attributes would be 'flooded' by genetic material from Anatomically Modern Humans. For every Neanderthal ancestor you may have, there's about 20,000 AMH ancestors.

Because Neanderthals lasted for 10's of thousands of years, we know that they were capable of doing a lot of things right. They could look after their children, they could avoid self-annihilation, they could feed themselves, and they could probably love their families and friends.

So, if somebody suggests that you are a Cave Man, just say thank you.

Answer 2

The people who say that have not really kept up on their science. Recent studies suggest that humans and Neanderthals didn't interbreed, as there is no Neanderthal DNA in modern humans. Also, that theory doesn't exactly account for the fact that many autistic people have plenty of non-autistic family members. If the DNA mix causes autism in one person, why wouldn't it cause autism in another?

Finally, and I say this as someone who really doesn't know too much about autism, but Neanderthals didn't behave like autistic people. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I understood that autism often makes it difficult for those afflicted to understand human emotions. Neanderthals were just as social a species as humans are, so autistic behavior would have caused them at least some problems.

Answer 3

I like your questions. I really don't know about Neanderthals and I've never heard anyone say that autistic people have cavemen DNA in them. Anyhow, I have 2 female friends with adult autistic children and neither or them have ever put forth that theory.

Have you read "The Inheritors" by William Golding?
http://www.william-golding.co.uk/w_inheritors.html
" Golding favoured this work above all his others. Many have agreed that his account of the final defeat of the last Neanderthal individuals at the hands of the emergent human race is powerfully and above all consistently imagined. The triumphs and disasters of the future are tragically implicit in this evocation of the conquest of an earlier, gentler group by those who are - for good and ill -- our ancestors "

Answer 4

No, autism apperas to be something else. I have a nephew that is a high funtioning autistic. The idea that modern humans and neanderthals might have interbred is interesting but we have no way of even knowing if it was possible. The general agreement is that the neanderthals were a separate species of human and totally died out.

Answer 5

Neanderthals were a separate species and probably didn't significantly interbreed with humans. It is ridiculous to theorize that autism or any other disability is related to Neanderthal genes. I too like to study Neanderthals as well as other hominids / hominoids. Neanderthals were probably as functional mentally as us and not prone to autism or anything else in my opinion. Certainly there is no evidence for that conclusion.

Answer 6

If you believe in evolution, the neanderthals were a dead end race in the human lineage. They could have bred with humans, but being a different species the offspring would be sterile. There is no chance you have any Neanderthal genetic material.

Answer 7

Scientist are still not yet very clear about this buisness. They say that neanderthals were interbreading with humans long before they disappeared. So in that case, we are all suppose to carry some degree of autism...

Answer 8

I am 6ft8".320lbs.16eeee feet. and some humans have said I must be a Neanderthal.but in reality I am a Bigfoot creature.Humans are a mixture of our ancestors and space aliens.be proud of your ancestor's. Neanderthals were our Buddy's long time ago.we have massive underground city's.powered by steam.and we have a highly advanced culture.If your a Neanderthal. then you will be welcomed here with us.if you would like to join us.knock on any large oak tree 7 times. then 4 times and an opening in the ground will appear and you may take the elevator down to visit or stay with with us.we come out to visit sometimes with humans.but of course we shave off some of our hair to look like Y'all.and by the way, theres nothing wrong with acting like a monkey.Peace

Answer 9

That is ridiculous, while scientists are decoding the Neanderthal genome it is far too early to say that humans and neanderthal's even interbred. So anyone who says that is a complete moron.

Answer 10

while you're speaking of Cave adult adult males interior the term of guy than of direction they are adult adult males, extra suitable than 250,000 years in the past they have been nevertheless evolving into adult adult males. How in the past are you speaking of. The final a hundred,000 or so years they might desire to look like us in basic terms shorter. on an identical time as animal skins won't be your concept of stylish they have been all that became obtainable. No women human beings no toddlers.