This question keeps coming up. As Europeans have 2-4% Neanderthal DNA, the claims made make people wonder. The problem with the claim: It is silly. Here is why: “Neanderthal mtDNA is very different from human mtDNA, so interbreeding did not happen.=> FALSE : this is one of the stupidest argument I have read so far. First of all, Mitochondrial DNA is only transmitted by the mother. It is very possible that some haplogroups have disappeared with time, especially if they had pathogenic mutations. If Neanderthal mtDNA caused an evolutionary handicap compared to Homo Sapiens mtDNA, it would have been wiped out with a few hundreds or thousands years. Take a family tree of cave person going back 5 generations. All of his 32 great-great-great-grand-parents are Homo … Continue reading “Why are there no Neanderthal mtDNA haplogroups present in modern humans?”