Neanderthal skull fossils are just skulls of very elderly humans
the verdict
REFUTED
the evidence says no
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
0 sources for · 2 against
AS REPORTEDno primary record reached; this is what the reporting says
Scientific literature and historical references establish that Neanderthal remains belong to a distinct extinct hominin lineage or species rather than simply being skulls of elderly modern humans.
Human history
Human history is the study of the human race from prehistory to the present day. It is part of natural history. Development of the human species
Modern human beings are called Homo sapiens ('wise man'). They have existed for about 250,000 years. Biologists believe that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa. Homo sapiens, lived at the same time as other species of human. Other species were Homo erectus ('standing man') and Homo neanderthalensis ('man from Neanderthal'). The theory of human evolution says that modern humans, Neanderthals, and Homo erectus slowly developed from other earlier species of human-like creatures. Homo neanderthalensis are the first humans scientists discovered which were not Homo sapiens. Homo neanderthalensis are usually called Neanderthal Man. They were discovered when the cranium of a skull was found in the Neanderthal Valley in 1856. It was different from a modern human skull so scientists believed it was from a new species.[1] Entire Neanderthal skeletons have been found in other places since then.[2] When ancient stone tools are found, their style often shows whether they were made by Homo sapiens or Neanderthals (see Palaeolithic).
They reserve H. erectus only for those fossils found in the Asian region that meet certain requirements (as to skeleton and skull) which differ slightly from H. ergaster. Neanderthal man
Homo neaderthalensis (usually called Neanderthals) lived from about 250,000 to about 30,000 years ago. It is less commonly called Homo sapiens neanderthalensis: there is still some discussion if it was a separate species, Homo neanderthalensis, or a subspecies of H. sapiens.[35]
While the debate remains unsettled, evidence from mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomal DNA sequencing indicates that little or no gene flow occurred between H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens, and, therefore, the two were separate species.[36] In 1997, Dr. Mark Stoneking, then an associate professor of anthropology at Pennsylvania State University, stated:
These results based on mitochondrial DNA extracted from Neanderthal bone indicate that Neanderthals did not contribute mitochondrial DNA to modern humans… Neanderthals are not our ancestors.
Everything we examined (2) — 1 independent source
This check searched the claim as stated. It did not run a separate search for evidence against it.