We look into the animal kingdom and see a vast variety of each species, yet for humans, this variety is extremely limited.
Taken from another page:
quote:
Genetic evidence
Investigation of the patterns of genetic variation in modern human populations supports the view that the origin of Homo sapiens is the result of a recent event that is consistent with the Out of Africa Model.
* Studies of contemporary DNA, especially mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which occurs only in the cellular organelles called mitochondria, reveal that humans are astonishingly homogeneous, with relatively little genetic variation.1,5
* The high degree of similarity between human populations stands in strong contrast to the condition seen in our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees.2 In fact, there is significantly more genetic variation between two individual chimpanzees drawn from the same population than there is between two humans drawn randomly from a single population. Furthermore, genetic variation between populations of chimpanzees is enormously greater than differences between European, Asian and African human populations.
Take a look at cats: Small house cats of infinite colors and sizes. Then you have some house cats with 6 toes. Some with no tail. Some with no hair whatsoever. and then onto a larger scale: tigers, lions, pumas, cheetas, jaguars...on and on and on. Its like this with most creatures. Vast varieties of a given species. Each with features which help them survive in their local ecosystem. But no matter the ecosystem, modern humans have no distinct features which would help them survive in say, a frozen climate versus an equatorial climate. With only small exceptions, we are all the same. Not to confuse this with comparing humans to chimps, to orangutans, gorrillas, etc. When I talk about different varieties, I'm implying different
human varieties, not primate varieties.
There were 6 different known hominid species.
1. Australopithecus anamensis
2. Australopithecus afarensis
3. Australopithecus africanus
4. Australopithecus aethiopicus (or Paranthropus aethiopicus)
5. Australopithecus boisei (or Paranthropus boisei)
6. Australopithecus robustus (or Paranthropus robustus)
A couple of these lines branched off into multiple human species.
Out of Africa and the middle east, came homo sapiens, the modern human. In Asia, Homo Erectus. In Europe, Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal). Some scientists think there could have been even more.
What happened to the last 2, and the possible unknowns, and why?
There is fossil "evidence" of different, unique human varieties having existed, but for some reason they are gone. To suggest that the other varieties were unfit for survival would be questionable, so why did they die out? They had all the same tools for survival we do. Perhaps less intelligent, but even the less intelligent human varieties would have been more intelligent than your average animal or primate which still survives and thrives today.
Given man's tendency to hate and kill anyone different throughout history (men will try and wipe out an entire race of people simply for an ideal), is it possible that entire varieties of humans were wiped out by a "dominant" human variety, and not by the hands of evolution? We have seen "ethnic cleansing" in our own time, and throughout history. Is it possible that they were killed off? Not that we need to find a reason or motivation for it. We have witnessed it happen for no good reason, so who is to say that it couldnt have happened?
The page I quoted from above, was something I found while editing this, and I was surprised to see there really was something to what was on my mind.
http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/johanson.html
This message has been edited by SantaClaus, 03-23-2006 09:28 PM
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