Neanderthal? Why, yes, of course!
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been accused of being a Neanderthal, I could probably retire already. And if I had a nickel for every time I’ve been annoyed at being accused of being a Neanderthal, I’d definitely be able to retire. But next time somebody accuses me of being a Neanderthal (usually because I’m insisting on doing something the right way rather than the easy way, like typing the word “you” in a text message instead of “U”), I’m going to smile and say, “Why, yes, of course, I am.”
2.7% Neanderthal
Approximately one to four percent of non-African modern human DNA is shared with Neanderthals,1 and, on average, folks without ancestry from Subsaharan Africa can expect to find about three percent of their genome hailing from Neanderthal ancestors.2 In fact, there’s not much more genetic difference between us and Neanderthals than there is between members of our various modern ethnic groups.3
As recently as 2006, there was widespread skepticism that there had ever been interbreeding between Homo sapiens (that’s us) and Neanderthals.4 It wasn’t until 2010 that studies began to confirm that there was such interbreeding and that modern humans carry Neanderthal genes.5 Later studies confirmed that the genetic link was shown in non-Africans, which means the interbreeding was probably a lot more recent in human history than we might have thought.6
In the words of one of the lead scientists on the studies, Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, “What this means is that Neanderthals are not totally extinct. In some of us, they live on.”7
Today, those who’ve had DNA testing through 23andMe as I have can run one of the prototype Ancestry Lab functions and see just what percentage of Neanderthal genes they may have.8 And, according to 23andMe, folks like me whose DNA is predominantly northern European can expect to find about 2.6 percent of their genes are Neanderthal.9 Me, I test out at 2.7 percent, slightly higher than expected, in the 68th percentile.
Clearly, my modern human genes differ from the Neanderthals in key ways. As a Homo sapien, I may have a better chance at reproduction, I may be better able to heal after being injured and I’m probably better at sweating and otherwise reacting to the general environemnt than my older Homo neanderthalensis relatives.10 The one thing science doesn’t know is what it means for an individual like me to have some percentage of Neanderthal genes in my overall genome.
Am I at some genetic advantage because I have those genes? Or at some genetic disadvantage? We don’t know. Am I stronger in some ways, or weaker in others? We don’t know. Would I be smarter without those genes, or less prone to weight gain, or faster on my feet? We don’t know.
And another unanswered question is what it means to have more Neanderthal genes. Do folks have higher percentages of Neanderthal genes if they have a larger lower jaw or a more sloped forehead? Is the percentage higher in those who are hairier, or who are shorter, or who have longer arms? I do have a slightly higher than average Neanderthal percentage for a northern European, but I’m certainly no hairier than most folks (though I do have my father’s thick German eyebrows), and I’m certainly not short (though I do have my father’s long arms — we used to say he was one of the few people we knew who could pull up his socks without bending over).
Me, I choose to believe that my slightly-higher-than-average percentage of Neanderthal ancestry explains why I insist on doing things the right way instead of the easy way. And don’t disagree with me on that, or I’ll hit you with my club.
SOURCES
- “What does it mean to be human? – Ancient DNA and Neanderthals,” Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (http://humanorigins.si.edu : accessed 17 Mar 2012). ↩
- John Hawks, “HLA class-I loci in Neandertals and Denisova,” John Hawks Weblog, posted 14 Sep 2011 (http://johnhawks.net/weblog : accessed 17 Mar 2012). ↩
- David Brown, “Ancient DNA shows interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthal,” The Washington Post, online edition, posted 7 May 2010 (http://www.washingtonpost.com : accessed 17 Mar 2012). ↩
- See generally “Neanderthal DNA,” ISOGG (http://www.isogg.org : accessed 17 Mar 2012). ↩
- See Ker Than, “Neanderthals, Humans Interbred—First Solid DNA Evidence,” National Geographic News (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news : accessed 17 Mar 2012). ↩
- Jennifer Viegas, “All Non-Africans Part Neanderthal, Genetics Confirm,” Discover (http://news.discovery.com : accessed 17 Mar 2012). ↩
- Brown, “Ancient DNA shows interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthal,” The Washington Post. ↩
- See “Find Your Inner Neanderthal,” The Spittoon, posted 15 Dec 2011 (http://spittoon.23andme.com/ : accessed 17 Mar 2012). ↩
- See chart results and explanation, graphic above. ↩
- Brown, “Ancient DNA shows interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthal,” The Washington Post. ↩
I just think that there are those of us who place a higher value on grammar and spelling, and there are those of us who can type with ease, and lastly, there are those of us who don’t give a rat’s behind about being cool and blending in with a younger crowd. Count me as one of those who almost always types out the full word, with the exception of “LOL”. Even when I text.
That, too, of course. So welcome, fellow Neanderthal!
. . . and here I thought it was just because I was old–all that insisting on spelling things out and using punctuation when texting. I’m off to check my DNA profile–
It’s always nice to have something other than age to blame!!
Neanderthal? You don’t look any older than Cro-Magnon Woman!
Gee, thanks… I think!
That was a joke. Besides Cro-Magnon woman has had work done. Believe me.
I knew that, Martin! (At least I hoped it was a joke!)
Now you have me wondering about my Neanderthal instincts…I haven’t had my autosomal test done by 23AndMe, but I did by FamilyTreeDNA (I don’t think they identify Neanderthal genes). I’ve also done the new Ancestry.com autosomal test so that will be interesting to see if it matches the FTDNA test. Perhaps my Neanderthalism will be revealed then.
My FTDNA test said I was 11% Middle Eastern ancestry…since 100% of my known ancestors, at least back around 1600, were in Western Europe, I take that to mean some of my German families may have been Jewish at some time.
Cro-Magnon women didn’t wear glasses…
I haven’t tested with Ancestry yet but probably will when they open it to new folks. (I’m a self-confessed DNA junkie.) We also have Middle Eastern ancestry in some lines including a J2 haplogroup so that may also be the case for us in the UK. I hope so. I think it’d be cool. And I dunno about the glasses. I really wasn’t around then so can’t say from personal knowledge!
Judy,
Have you checked the Ancestry Finder Lab at 23andMe to see if any hints of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry show up? I wrote a blog post about discovering my unknown distant AJ ancestry in AF quite some time ago: http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/2010/09/ashkenazi-and-me-case-for-euro-dna.html
And, by the way, I always spell everything out in texts too!
Unfortunately for this purpose, I’m the only one who’s also tested with 23andMe — everyone else in my extended family has only tested with FTDNA. I’d use Dienekes’ calculators but I think they still only work with 23andMe raw data, no?
I have to admit, I’m one of those youngins who type “u” instead of “you” in text, but I almost never use it in emails or blog post comments. Unless I’m using my phone to respond to Facebook comments or emails, then it’s fair game! But for you, I’d type “you” in text any time!
I am also one of those who is a stickler for doing things the right way. In fact it keeps me in constant conflict. I’ve had more conflict this year than I’ve had in several years and I’m beginning to feel a bit neanderthal myself. I don’t get what all the hype is about though. Clearly I missed something in my education.
I got an email from a cousin the other day about the rH factor being the proof that aliens existed. So being the curious scientist I am, and after first explaining what the rH factor was to her, I returned the favor by reading the blog posts she kindly forwarded to me and I learned a little bit about Neanderthals and the CroMagnons mentioned above. I still don’t get all the hype. Guess I will have to read yours sources above. Thanks for sharing. I did not test with 23andMe, so I can’t tell you if I have Neanderthal DNA at this time.
Aliens and Rh. Oh my.