Re: Neanderthal DNA
David Campbell (bivalve@isis.unc.edu)
Mon, 14 Jul 1997 11:04:35 -0400>Besides, if Neanderthal men found sapiens women beautiful, then Neanderthals
>could be in our ancestry and this is still consistent with the results of
>the DNA tests. mtDNA is only passed on by women to their offspring. Thus
>if Neanderthal men all married sapien women, the mtDNA passed on to the next
>generation would be sapiens mtDNA! This result only proves that there is no
>direct maternal line from Neandertals to modern men. It does not rule out
>Neanderthal ancestry of other sorts.
Additionaly, if the mixed population was relatively small, the Neanderthal
genes could be lost by genetic drift. (A non-genetic analogy is the
disappearance of last names because no male in a particular generation has
a male son).