I was reading an article from Wired about a Neanderthal DNA test. It says that, while still inconclusive, there is a good chance that Neanderthal man is a separate being than modern man. It got me thinking back to the great flood of Noah. I wonder if most of the world population at that time were Neanderthal and the flood is what removed them.
Perhaps the differences between Neanderthal and modern man is what allowed humans in the old testament to live for hundreds of years? Adam lived 930 years, Methuselah the longest lived of the patriarchs lived 969 years. Noah lived 950 years.