If the bones of a person with birth defects, like the elephant man, had been found in a cave, and analyzed by some of the people who like to jump to conclusions about “new discoveries”, then the elephant man would’ve been described as an entirely new species of humans.
Rudolph Virchow said the same thing about Neandertal — his eventually deteriorated into claiming that the remains were of a 17th c Cossack with rickets. It didn’t hold up, and in fact, it didn’t make any sense even then.
You hit the nail on the head.
Thank you.
I’ve heard speculation that the Elephant Man might have been a one-of and had Elepahnt Man’s Desease. Because his skeleton was boiled before it went on display, no DNA remains. Too bad.
I always thought they should have remains of at least a couple of individuals from different locations before they start naming species.