Although later they begin to find out, like the previous article, that divergence between these two species was over 500,000 years ago through PCR-amplified mtDNA (Noonan, 2010: 548); language is still a possibility. The research on Neanderthal genome that was studied showed that there is a FOXP2 gene present in Neanderthals that is believed to be the key-defining gene for the evolution of language (Noonan, 2010: 551). However, from my perspective, if the variety in their genome diverged 500,000 years ago and they both have what seems to be FOXP2 gene, this could be represented by convergent evolution. The fact that they seem to not be really interconnected as much as we thought and that there was no interbreeding, could strongly suggest that
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Although we cannot observe and see the actual features of Neanderthals, as they are extinct, we do have their skeletal remains that show similarities between the two species and would be supported by Darwin with his natural selection. Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection was based on pure observations. Darwin observed species that were separated by physical barriers, however still had similar features. Based on his observations Darwin came up with the idea that all species descend from a common ancestor, and through that common ancestor species change through time or go extinct. Extinction happens because species struggle to survive and are not fit enough to reproduce was his main argument and is stated all throughout his book. Only with surviving and being able to reproduce can species pass on the most heritable and favorable traits. Being able to pass on heritable traits is what makes it possible for a species to survive and have different variation within a population, and that is what Neanderthals seemed to lack, the cycle that allows evolution and survival. We can also incorporate some of this other ideas that tie into natural selection, like the means of
Although we cannot observe and see the actual features of Neanderthals, as they are extinct, we do have their skeletal remains that show similarities between the two species and would be supported by Darwin with his natural selection. Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection was based on pure observations. Darwin observed species that were separated by physical barriers, however still had similar features. Based on his observations Darwin came up with the idea that all species descend from a common ancestor, and through that common ancestor species change through time or go extinct. Extinction happens because species struggle to survive and are not fit enough to reproduce was his main argument and is stated all throughout his book. Only with surviving and being able to reproduce can species pass on the most heritable and favorable traits. Being able to pass on heritable traits is what makes it possible for a species to survive and have different variation within a population, and that is what Neanderthals seemed to lack, the cycle that allows evolution and survival. We can also incorporate some of this other ideas that tie into natural selection, like the means of