Fig. 5 | Scientific Reports

Fig. 5

From: A simple analytical model for Neanderthal disappearance due to genetic dilution by recurrent small-scale immigrations of modern humans

Fig. 5

Estimates of total time \(T_f\) needed for achieving the Neanderthal high genetic dilution (i.e., \(P_{S,f} = 0.990\)), as a function of \(\chi\) (the H. sapiens immigration fraction per cycle). Results for three different mean time intervals \(\Delta t\) between subsequent immigration cycles are shown. The Figure illustrates that over 10,000–30,000 years, recurrent small-scale H. sapiens immigrations could have led to the near-total demise of the Neanderthal alleles, thus resulting in a H. sapiens gene pool preserving only traces of the Neanderthal ancestry.

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