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The Neanderthal-modern human case provides a useful analogy for understanding race in modern humans: |
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-* **Gene flow and admixture blur species or subspecies boundaries**: Neanderthals had unique alleles prior to admixture, but those alleles became incorporated into modern human populations through interbreeding. Over time, this genetic mixing erased a clear genetic separation. |
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+* Gene flow and admixture blur species or subspecies boundaries: Neanderthals had unique alleles prior to admixture, but those alleles became incorporated into modern human populations through interbreeding. Over time, this genetic mixing erased a clear genetic separation. |
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-* **Modern human races differ primarily in allele frequency distributions, not in unique alleles**: Similar to Neanderthals and modern humans, current human races do not have exclusive alleles absent in others, but rather differences in the relative frequencies of shared genetic variants, shaped by historical separation and partial reproductive isolation. |
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+* Modern human races differ primarily in allele frequency distributions, not in unique alleles: Similar to Neanderthals and modern humans, current human races do not have exclusive alleles absent in others, but rather differences in the relative frequencies of shared genetic variants, shaped by historical separation and partial reproductive isolation. |
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-* **Time scale matters**: Neanderthals diverged from modern humans hundreds of thousands of years ago and remained largely isolated until interbreeding events. Modern human racial groups diverged more recently (tens of thousands of years) with varying levels of gene flow. |
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+* Time scale matters: Neanderthals diverged from modern humans hundreds of thousands of years ago and remained largely isolated until interbreeding events. Modern human racial groups diverged more recently (tens of thousands of years) with varying levels of gene flow. |
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-* **Morphological distinctions can overlap across groups**: Just as Neanderthal skeletal traits show overlap with modern humans, racial differences in morphology exhibit continuous variation without discrete boundaries. |
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+* Morphological distinctions can overlap across groups: Just as Neanderthal skeletal traits show overlap with modern humans, racial differences in morphology exhibit continuous variation without discrete boundaries. |
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-* **Classification is inherently a human decision based on criteria**: Whether Neanderthals are designated a species or subspecies depends on taxonomic philosophy, which applies similarly to how races are classified biologically. |
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+* Classification is inherently a human decision based on criteria: Whether Neanderthals are designated a species or subspecies depends on taxonomic philosophy, which applies similarly to how races are classified biologically. |
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Thus, if the ability to interbreed and genetic continuity is key to species or subspecies designation, the absorption of Neanderthal alleles into modern humans reflects a collapse of their distinct classification. Similarly, modern races, while showing differences, exist within one species with partial but incomplete reproductive isolation. |
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