Neanderthals

What do you think of them? I know they could speak, hunted in packs, and even showed adaptation in the generation of several advanced stone tools. They were some of our closest relatives, and indeed we (non africans) share up to 4 percent of their dna, showing we could successfully breed with them, meaning they were subspecies of homo sapiens. A friend of mine insists that they were much like apes, but he's a creationist.

 

He's a creationist and you call him a friend? The hell.

 

They were apes. But then again, your creationist friend is an ape whether he chooses to believe so or not.

 

What do I think of Arthgon? Hmm, tough to call.

 

He meant ape as a derogatory term. I use the word "person." These were people possessed of symbolism, creativity, and abstract thought much as we claim to hold stake in such things. The fact that we interbred is proof enough, as far as I'm concerned, that they had minds much as we do. Their brains were bigger than ours, in fact. They had hyoid bones, which are key in developing a proper larynx. They had language and sophistication, and were masters of their domain. As far as I can tell, we just bred them out of existence. Or we ate them. Or we killed them off. Who votes for what?

 

They weren't people, they were primitive creatures, if they were half as creative as us they would still be around.

 

I thought we went nazi and killed the bunch of them.

 

They had well designed tools. The neanderthal axe is practically uniform for hundreds of thousands of years. They work well as throwing weapons and fifty neanders throwing these things would stop a bus.

They were cooks, using fire to maximise their digestive efficiency. Hmm, mammoth steak.

They certainly had language: Don't even get me started about protohuman language. Humans didn't invent intelligence, mofos!

They survived on earth for over a million years. That's a better record than ours, so far.

They had music? At least, what's thought to be a flute has been found among their artifacts.

The only significant advance they didn't have is dogs, and they seem to have had a good sense of smell of their own anyway.

Ultimately, I consider them to be dwarves: less flighty and imaginative than men, but tough motherfuckers and good at what they know.

My vote is all of the above: Genetic assimilation, direct conflict and especially out-competing them. Even a small advantage can wipe out another competing species within a thousand years, let alone a million.

 

That's funny, because a creationist that I know was adamant that they were completely human.

 

That doesn't really mean all that much. Sperm whales have brains ~six time bigger than humans and they're not exactly ruling the planet.

 

... As far as we know. "The sperm whale's ways are inscrutable."

 

You're going to have to tell me how a sperm whale's very body would allow it to rule the planet. It can't perform fine manipulation of tools with hands, can't move its eyes, and...that's about it. Brain size as compared to the rest of the body is what I'm talking about. The brain of a sperm whale is six times bigger than a modern human's, but it has fewer convolutions and is much smaller compared to the rest of its body than a human brain is to its own.
Now, if we measured success by a different organ, the penis, the sperm whale would be right behind the walrus and blue whale on the ladder of world conquest.

 

That being said, a shrew has a four times greater brain to body weight ratio than a human.

 

Well that throws what I'm saying out the window. Still, what of the convolutions in the brain?

 

That's where we excel, as far as I know. A massive cerebrum and all that cerebral cortex accumulated in its folds is what makes us the local overlords.

 

Dolphin brains have an exceptional amount of convolution, but we mostly see them playing or raping. I don't think that's a good use of their brainpower.

 

Who is happier and more fulfilled in the end, though? We, with all our technology and culture or them, with all their play and rape?