There was an interesting anthropological observation last year while I was
off the list. It seems that a genetic study of the melanocortin 1 receptor
(MC1R) shows that this gene has enough variability to date it around 100,000
years for its origin. This might not seem important until it is recognized
that this is the red-hair gene. Red hair is only found in two places on the
earth--Europe within the former territory of the Neanderthals and Papua New
Guinea (but Harding seems to think that the Papuan example is a case of
demographic history rather than selection (Harding and Rees)). Now, this
gene is not found in Africans who, according to the Out of Africa view, are
the only ones who are supposed to have contributed to the modern human gene
pool. If that is true, then the question is where did the gene come from and
why does it end up almost exclusively a trait found in regions previously
occupied by Neanderthals--namely Europe? Given that this gene has 100,000
years of history behind it, if the mutation had occurred among the earliest
group to leave Africa, it should have gone in all directions and today be
found among the Chinese and other groups. And this would tend to rule out
such a scenario.
So where did it come from? One hundred thousand years ago, the only people
in Europe were the Neanderthals and most observers of this gene have drawn
the conclusion that the red haired gene is from the Neanderthals. Indeed,
Harding, the leading researcher has never said as much IN HER RESEARCH
PAPERS, but she has said so in interviews:
"So does that mean it is possible that Scottish redheads are directly
descended from the Neanderthals? "It seems to be the logical conclusion to
what I am saying," said Harding. "But I don't know if people are going to
like me for saying that."" http://www.aulis.com/news12.htm
Given the strong bias against the concept of Neanderthal heritage among the
Out of Africa advocates, I have no doubt people won't like her saying that.
Lest people think that I am demeaning others for being related to the
Neanderthals, I suspect I am also and if I am, I am proud of it because they
were quite fascinating people. I suspect I have the MCR 1 gene, as I have a
now graying red moustache, my grandmother was a red head and my brother also
had a red beard, and I am decesnded from Scots on both sides of the family
(10% of Scots are red-haired). And tonight I did something I had wanted to
do for a long time, measure my crural index, which is difficult on a living
person, but basically it is the tibia length/femur length ratio. All my life
people have commented on my short legs. I have a torso, which if I had the
legs to go with it would make me over 6 feet tall. But my legs 'compensate'
and I am about 5'9". Making 4 measurements on my thigh length and tibia
length, I came out with .78, .79, .81, and .85 which places my legs on the
low side of modern crural indices. Stringer and Gamble relate that the
modern average for the crural index is about .85 while Neanderthals ranged
in the region below .8 meaning my legs are a bit Neanderthal-like, assuming
my measurments are good!
http://www.ramsdale.org/adam.htm
http://www.ox.ac.uk/blueprint/2000-01/3105/11.shtml
http://news.24.com/News24/Technology/Science_Nature/0,1113,46_1011323,00.htm
Now, the theological implications of this are obvious. If we have
Neanderthal genes, even one Neanderthal gene, we simply can't have
apologetical scenarios which separate us from them as is done by many of the
apologists. So, why don't apologists pay attention to data like this? I
wish I knew.
REferences
Chris Stringer and Clive Gamble, In Search of theNeanderthals, (New York:
Thames and Hudson, 1993), p.93
R. Harding and J. Rees "Interpreting patterns of polymorphism in the
melanocortin 1 receptor gene
"http://hgm2001.hgu.mrc.ac.uk/Abstracts/Publish/Workshops/Workshop06/hgm0046
.htm
glenn
see http://www.glenn.morton.btinternet.co.uk/dmd.htm
for lots of creation/evolution information
anthropology/geology/paleontology/theology\
personal stories of struggle
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