http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_694000/694467.stm
excerpt:
Wednesday, 29 March, 2000, 07:45 GMT 08:45 UK
Neanderthals not human ancestors
Modern humans do not have Neanderthal ancestors in their family tree, a new
DNA study concludes.
The DNA extracted from the ribs of a Neanderthal infant buried in southern
Russia 29,000 years ago was found to be too distinct from modern human DNA
to be related.
"There wasn't much, if any mixture, between Neanderthals and modern humans,"
said William Goodwin, of the University of Glasgow, UK. "Though they
co-existed, we can't find any evidence of genetic material being passed from
Neanderthals to modern humans."
The new work, published in the journal Nature, contradicts recent evidence
from ancient remains of a child found in Portugal, which appeared to combine
Neanderthal and human features. Those researchers concluded that some
interbreeding must have taken place.
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