Well, a bunch of scientists decided to go read some Neanderthal DNA, and totally ruin all our fun.

Neanderthals, an archaic human species that dominated Europe until the arrival of modern humans some 45,000 years ago, possessed a critical gene known to underlie speech, according to DNA evidence retrieved from two individuals excavated from El Sidron, a cave in northern Spain.

So, Neanderthals can speak, a major blow to "Neanderthal" as a slam. Luckily, calling someone a "Neanderthal" went out of style with Saved by the Bell. Otherwise we'd all have a big ole' mouth filled to the brim with humble pie.

Meanwhlie, look for "Cro-Magnon" to fill the Neanderthal void. "Hey Cro-Mag! Nice teeth!"

Labels: RIP

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 1:54 PM.