eli5 If it’s suspected that early humans interbred with other species of humans, why would they be considered different species since the offspring were obviously fertile?
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There is more to speciation than whether species breed and produce fertile offspring. Very closely related species can and do all the time. Domestic dogs and wolves or coyotes are a ready example.
Take the example of coyotes (canis latrans) and wolves (canis lupus); they can breed and produce fertile offspring. They typically don’t, but they can. Wolves are larger and hunt in packs. When people or other animals get into their territory, they leave or die out. Coyotes stay put and adapt. Coyotes are solitary or work in pairs.
To the best of our knowledge, the different human species that co-existed had enough differences physically and behaviorally to be considered different species despite being able to reproduce. This isn’t an exact science and based on how much neanderthal DNA is in modern humans, we didn’t just mate on occasion, we mated regularly. However, we typically find neanderthal and primitive sapiens separately from each other in the fossil record; as light as it is on the topic.
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