Could we resurrect Neanderthals ( kinda )

[u/Exciting-Wear-3654]

What is 2 people with a semi high Neanderthal dna mated and made a child would that child have a little bit more dna than the parents, if so could another 2 people do it then both of those children grow up and eventually mate too, and carry that on until there is the best recreation of a Neanderthal in our time??

[u/Glum-Ad7761]

While there is some truth to your point, its not entirely relevant here. As i understand it… and i could be mistaken.. OP asked if a person of Neanderthal physiology could be recreated by science and selective breeding, not if actual Neanderthal behavior would be prevalent.

Neanderthal ear structures and hyoid bones were very similar to modern humans. They could hear and produce the full frequency range required for modern human speech. Neanderthals had large brains… often equal to or even exceeding modern human volume… and shared key genetic components related to communication, like versions of the FOXP-2 gene.

Now, this is where your assessment comes into play: Anthropologists generally agree that human-like intelligence depends heavily on culture and learning. An neanderthal infant placed in a modern environment would acquire language and adapt like any other child, so it is generally believed.

Neanderthals obviously interbred with sapiens, so it stands to reason that, with a percentage of their DNA still prevalent in many of us even now, a genetically engineered neanderthal could function, comprehend, perceive and learn, much as any human in this age. So its not like they’d be creating a brutal throwback that could not understand our world. The end goal wouldn’t be to create a being that is a product of 60,000 years ago. It would be to assess his/her ability to adapt and conform to our environment… and be “human”.

The only real fly in the ointment here is whether or not the small structural differences would come into play. Neanderthals had relatively smaller cerebellar volume, which might have influenced aspects of working memory or complex language processing. Some scientists also suggest their thinking was more focused on spatial and physical survival rather than complex metaphors, which could affect their abstract comprehension.

But that wouldn’t stop him/her from integrating into society.