Opinions regarding the fate of the Neandertals

    Now that you have read about and even heard the differing opinions regarding the fate of the Neandertals, which argument do you find most convincing -- was Homo neandertalensis a dead-end species that was replaced by fully modern humans or was it a species that contributed to the modern human gene pool? What are some of the larger implications of this question? What is the evolutionary significance of the discovery of Homo floresiensis in 2003? Why was this finding so remarkable? Why is it that very small or very large versions of animals can evolve on islands? What do they think happened to this species? How surprised were you to learn that this species might have lived until 12,000 years ago, well into the period of modern humans?