human/neanderthal crosses?

[pankaaj]

could humans and neanderthals have crossbred? so that their genes would be passed through in the human race? if so, how would we detect the genes?

Good Question!
But if we go by evolutionary way meaning the backward of our known tree of evolution; what we see is that first Cromagnon & then Neanderthal & then other monkeys!
So but see what we have been taught in schools that Neanderthals were inferior to Crows hence they did not survive but the point of mixing of genes if u consider then I can say that If genes are getting mixed then it should take place in a particular region & in a particular time length!
Other thing is that there should be favourable conditions for genetic exchange like now what our unmade criterias are; like it depends upon whom do u like or something like that>
Now after this much constraints there is genetic exchange still there is very little chance of expressing these characters or the genes.
See Homo neanderthalensis & Homo sapiens same genus only change of spp.
Most of the genes in a genus gene pool are the same;so this thing again lowers the chance of detection.
And it may happen that in such a long time scale (not actually large) genes get wiped out!!!

[Schröder]

could humans and neanderthals have crossbred? so that their genes would be passed through in the human race? if so, how would we detect the genes?

Very unlikely. I still hold strongly to the Complete replacement model (Out of Africa) theory wherby anatomically modern humans migrated out of Africa and completely replaced populations of Homo neanderthalis in other parts of the world. This theory holds that there were no speciation events occuring at the time and as a result Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalis were two completely separate species. In fact, recently molecular evidence showed that the DNA evidence from fossils and skeletal remains of 3 well preserved Homo neanderthalis and DNA from skeletal remains of primitive Homo sapiens showed many different alterations in both genomes....hence there was no way to interbreed.

See Essentials of Physical Anthropology 5th Edition by Jurmain and Kilgore.....they have the recently updated information.

[charles brough]

There is yet one more angle on this subject:

The Neanderthals may well have become extinct because their social-instinctive behavior was different. Human evolution took place as hunting/gathering groups while the Neanderthal seems to have been mainly just the hunter.

So, instead of living in group-families of perhaps four couples under one or two Alpha males, the Alpha male Neanderthal had perhaps only a grown uncle (perhaps gay) or son, three or so "wives" and a lot of children

His hunting or war party could not compete or survive against the human hunting-gathering eight or so man hunting team.

charles, http://humanpurpose,simplenet.com

[Dustfinger]

The Neanderthals lived with Homo sapiens in the same area, I think, but Homo Sapiens was more capable...isn't it so ?