Neandertaler wurden möglicherweise eher „absorbiert“ als ausgerottet: Ein einfaches Analysemodell zeigt, dass ein konstanter Genfluss aus größeren Populationen des Homo sapiens das Verschwinden der Neandertaler innerhalb von 30.000 Jahren erklären könnte.

**Abstract**

The disappearance of Neanderthals remains a subject of intense debate, with competing hypotheses attributing their demise to demographic decline, environmental change, competition with _Homo sapiens_, or genetic assimilation. Here, we present a mathematical model demonstrating that small-scale _Homo sapiens_ immigrations into Neanderthal populations, providing recurrent gene mixing, could have led to almost complete genetic substitution over 10,000–30,000 years. Our model, grounded in neutral species drift, does not require selective advantage or catastrophic events but shows that sustained gene flow from a demographically larger species could account for Neanderthals’ genetic absorption into modern humans within a time-frame consistent with archaeological evidence. This scenario aligns with growing evidence of interbreeding and genetic introgression through recurrent _H. sapiens_ immigration waves, providing a parsimonious explanation for the observed patterns of Neanderthal ancestry in present-day Eurasian populations. Although other factors may have contributed to the decline of Neanderthals, our results highlight genetic admixture as a possible key mechanism driving their disappearance

> Neanderthals may have been „absorbed“ rather than extinguished

Is this what the article says? Because this is common knowledge, Neanderthals have been absorbed. 

Makes sense considering some of the people I’ve met

So they didn’t really go extinct, they are us, and we are them. This explains why some of us showcase some of their features.

SamONellaAcademy dubbed it the „Sexy Neanderthal Theory“

And while he uses a lot of humor, he likely isn’t far off from the truth of it. I can’t link it here, but it’s on YouTube for anyone interested.