Commenters focus on Neanderthal-human interbreeding, genetics, and cultural portrayal. bwnkl highlights a claimed 2026 finding that interbreeding skewed toward Neanderthal males with human females and links a paper suggesting mate preference, even joking “Neanderthal dudes were smoking hot.” seba_dos1 suggests Rh incompatibility as a partial cause of asymmetric hybrid viability, while ricksunny questions whether defining ancestral groups matters if genes dilute over generations. howunfortunate counters that ancestral groups aren’t arbitrary for DNA. armenarmen proposes consumer-DNA companies reveal the “most Neanderthal” living person for curiosity and influencer potential. ericmcer extrapolates that modern races might be slowly “bred out” through globalization, and fooker warns that anti-mixing extremists have historically pursued eugenics or worse.
Other comments touch on cultural and scholarly angles. riffraff defends portrayals in Clan of the Cave Bear as mostly civilized despite contested rape scenes, while AndrewKemendo praises Peter Sahlins and recommends Marshall Sahlins’ Stone Age Economics. johnkozak echoes respect for Marshall Sahlins, SecuredMarvin quips about Homo neanderthalensis’ ironic name, Gagarin1917 jokes about a game, and delichon wryly warns that provoking HNers’ stress could affect fertility - lighthearted notes mixed with serious debate.
Summary generated by AI from the linked article. hn.today is not affiliated with Hacker News or Y Combinator.
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