The Neanderthal “love story” isn’t what the DNA actually shows

Popular headlines claim Neanderthal men 'preferred' Homo sapiens women. But according to ScienceDaily, the genetic evidence tells a far more complicated story. The DNA shows only an uneven pattern of inheritance—which could stem from biology, migration, or social organization, not romantic preference. Archaeological evidence offers another explanation: Neanderthal communities may have followed traditions where women moved between groups. What the headlines framed as a love story was probably something far messier—a prehistoric social pattern we're only beginning to piece together.

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