Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Neanderthal or Homo Sapien?

Does it matter? I guess it does, because here and there, I keep reading contrasting views about whether we, the supposedly pure-bred Homo Sapiens, had any Neanderthal genes in us. The last prevailing stance was that Homo Sapiens were totally different from Neanderthals, because they were from different regions.

Now, still another view: An article in The Associated Press by Randolph E. Schmid says that a skull found in a cave in Romania has features of both species, suggesting they may have interbred. Radiocarbon dating indicates it to be 35,000 to 40,000 years old.

Then, someone else in Germany is trying to map the Neanderthal genome to understand any possible link to modern people. Well, I can think of a few possible…Oh, never mind!

Anyhow, this makes me think. What if there was a Romeo Juliet story between a Neanderthal and a Homo Sapien 40,000 or more years ago? How would Shakespeare write that one? What about the balcony scene?
I guess some lines could be copied exactly.
"Being held a foe, he may not have access
To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear;"

Then, maybe, what if a WC writer wrote a Juliet Neanderthal and Romeo Sapien story? Don't look at me! I only read the weird stuff and make up even weirder stories. Count me out. This is a serious historical undertaking.

Well, anybody up for it?