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We are the only human species alive. But Why?


Anomalocaris

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Why are we the only human species still alive?

Once Earth was home to a host of human species, from Neanderthals to hobbits. But today only we survive.

Two million years ago in Africa, several species of human-like creatures roamed the landscape. Some looked surprisingly similar to each other, while others had distinct, defining features.

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thanks Anomalocaris, that was interesting.

I guess there is little to no? evidence for it, but, i wonder if inter species and even intertribal cannibalism was widespread for a long time? Seriously, how did we learn to be so aggressive and 'warlike' ?

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Seriously, how did we learn to be so aggressive and 'warlike' ?

Chimps are probably the clue here- they are our closest related species, and they are very aggressive. I suspect our common ancestor probably was as well.

On our planet of the apes victory went to whoever was most keen on trying to rip their opponents balls off with their bare hands...

Evolution : If your enemy cant breed because you've torn him to pieces and smashed him with rocks you will probably win the evolutionary arms race.

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Art killed our near relatives? Is this still a viable legal defense?

Jokes aside that was a good read.

Complexity resulting in increased population that came about only because our minds were built slightly differently than other human-like beasts has always seemed like a viable answer.

Elfen Lied, both the cartoon and comic deal with the evolution of a new human species that is clearly superior to us, our reactions....that and hate, memory, dealing with loss, man's desire to be god, science out of control, incest, revenge......you know, all the great stuff in life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfen_Lied

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Much of it's probably caused by breeding across the species. Unlikely, or some just perished due to climate change and other disasters. The melting of the Ice Age wiped out a lot of species, and more than that was an asteroid impact.

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Regarding the Denisovans, how can they postulate a new species from such a small sample of bones?

It isn't the bones, but the genetics that were retrieved from the bones.
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Thanks for the article!

Regarding the Denisovans, how can they postulate a new species from such a small sample of bones?

Because no matter how small the bone, we have the entire genome. And this is not Neanderthal, nor modern human. And the rare bit we have, a toe bone, a finger bone and two tooth, are too big to be erectus or floresiensis. There is simply no match in Eurasia yet.

I guess there is little to no? evidence for it, but, i wonder if inter species and even intertribal cannibalism was widespread for a long time?

Both Neandertal and Sapiens were leaving their butchering trash not far away from their camp, we know exactly what they were eating. No trace of intra or extra species cannibalism. Homo Antecessor on the other hand could have been eating their own. There are butchering marks on their bones, although it's nor clear if it was cannibalism or defleshing their death in some part of departure ritual.

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My take on the "We are the only human species alive. But Why?" question would be: we mostly absorbed them. And since we breed like rabbits before that, we dissolved their genetic signal, purged most of their bad gene, free ride over their good ones. The last Neandertals disappeared in Europe about 40,000 years ago, sapiens came in 45,000 years ago, it took us 5 millennia to absorb them all, but in the end, there was no pure blood left, they were us. The same goes for Denisovan and probably whatever else was in Asia and Africa at that time.

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Through evolution, species arise through the process of speciation—where new varieties of organisms arise and thrive when they are able to find and exploit an ecological niche—and species become extinct when they are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against superior competition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction

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