Juist when it seemt that the question o modren hybridisation wi Neanderthals wis sattled, an Dienekes had come roon tae acceptin it - efter bein the yin commentator that peyed attention tae the possibeelity o it bein a statistical artefact - it's aa up in the air again wi a paper confirmin the viabeelity o the statistical explanation. Naethin new, really, nae new data or that. Bit there a guid summary o the discussion by Matt Ridley in the Wall Street Journal, 'Did Your Ancestor Date a Neanderthal?'
Dienekes has a series o technical posts discussin raicent papers in the field. As Dienekes pynts oot, the strangest argiement agin hybridisation is the wint o Neanderthal mitrochondrial DNA (i.e. a genetic contribution fae Neanderthal weemen) in modrens. The obvious answer is that the encounters o Neanderthal men wi modren weemen were casual, if no violent. Bit it's ay possible that the modren groups involved were matrilocal.
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