Neanderthal DNA

[Cognito]

So untill Cro-Magnon's genome is produced how do you know that you are he? Like me, you claim not to fit the stereotypical CM skeleton, which is why I suspect that HSN is in there somewhere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_R1b_%28Y-DNA%29

"...[R1b1c] is believed by many to have been widespread in Europe before the last Ice Age, and associated with the Aurignacian culture (32,000 - 21,000 BC) of the Cro-Magnon people, the first modern humans to enter Europe."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup ... logroup_U5

"... Haplogroup U5 was the very first mtDNA haplogroup to settle Europe, approximately 40,000 years ago, at a time when many other mtDNA and Y-chromosome haplogroups were arising far to the East."

The methodology for placing origination dates on the different haplogroups involves genetic clocking techniques derived from known rates of mutation. This isn't an exact science, but I believe geneticists can get in the ballpark. As mentioned, when my results came back, I said out loud: "Holy Crap, I'm a Cro Magnon" to which my wife replied: "And all this time I thought you were a Neanderthal!"

Actually, I do agree with Trinkaus that we will find hybrids among the Neanderthals and Cro Magnons; however, as stated elsewhere on this Forum, genetic drift has likely washed out all traces of any successful offspring, if even possible. In spite of all that, the Neanderthal argument is still a great reason for explaining why I took second to my 13yo daughter!

[Digit]

Any excuse Cog! The early results by Paabo, Stoneking et al point out the shortage of samples, which I thought was remarkably honest of them, and if you take the figures I quoted earlier as being accurate it would be a miracle if they found HSN DNA first time around.
Rather like taking three corpses at random from across the States and finding DNA markers from an Australian Aborigine.
Possible but damned unlikely I should say.
And by the way Cog, Rose in his review of the above says that DNA clocking is still subject to debate, techno speak for disputed, certainly I can't think of any mechanism that would generate mutations at regular intervals, can you?

[Cognito]

Trinkaus and Wolpoff have already gently implied that Paabo will need to extrapolate a tremendous amount of data. I agree that the sampling needs to be representative of a population and they just aren't there yet from a statistical standpoint (i.e. give me 67-70 samples and I'll give you 95% certainty). C'est la vie.