Quote Originally Posted by Frozen_Feet View Post
Saying neanderthals died out is bit of a simplification: modern genetic research has proven that they could breed with cro-magnon/sapiens, so at least part of them merged with us.

EDIT: which is also why I don't get what neanderthals have to do with this line of discussion. Neanderthals had humanlike minds because they were humans.
Neanderthals were humans just like us, but they weren't homo-sapiens (at least not according to some scientists). Chimps are hominids just like us, monkeys are simians just like us, lemurs are primates just like us...

Where is the line drawn in these "classifications" for capacity to be self aware? It isn't JUST homo-sapiens. It isn't just us. We are not unique. We may have "more" of this quality, but we aren't the only ones to achieve it.