Sounds like you've already discovered thought is dangerous to societal acceptance. I had a science teacher that was a creationist!!!! - I failed him instead.
One more theory for your namesake, the media etc still go on a bout the missing link etc. All the available evidence shows that Neanderthals were alive at the same time as cromagnon man but died out shortly after modern man's arrival - cro!, now the accepted reason is competition from the more adept and intelligent (based on brain size) cro magnon-- competeition amongst 50,000 or 100000 individuals spread over the entire European continent- As if!! It is so much more likely that the 2 people interbred, with the typical neandarthals (australopithicus) obvious skeletal structure regressing into the distant past that it beggars belief that competition is seen as more likely by most paleontologists.
The point is that if that sort of conclusion is made in spite of evidence then the same possible answers to missing link questions may also be overlooked.
I think the reason for this above reason of competition is that it fits in so nicely to the theory of evolution and also the co-existance evidence came after it was accepted that cro magnon is our direct ancestor - and so they would have to be wrong on that one if we are the progeny of the inferior neanderthals.
of course the word species means something entirely differnt now to 20 or 30 years ago - I learnt that a different species couldnt mate successfully, but these days a new species is discovered every day - on current tests, negroes would be a different race to pygmies, Arabs, indians, Mediteraneans, Normans, etc etc.
ah the wonder of it all pb
Maybe all these will be answered when we explore our own geology (beyond 10 k's down) and our immediate neighbours
