In 1997, Ancient DNA Was Extracted from One of the Neandertal

Multiple Choice

In 1997, ancient DNA was extracted from one of the Neandertal bones originally found in Germany's Neandertal Valley in 1856. This was the first time that the DNA of a premodern human has been recovered. When comparing this DNA with that of modern humans, the researchers found

A) 27 differences between the two, many more than would be expected in closely related humans, suggesting that there may have been little interbreeding between Neandertals and the direct ancestors to modern humans.
B) only 5 to 8 differences between the two, as is typical of closely related humans, placing Neandertals within modern humans' direct line of descent.
C) many more mutations in the Neandertal DNA, suggesting that the species had been around 100,000 years longer than previously estimated.
D) no differences, since Neandertals and modern humans are the same species.
E) that the two samples were not comparable, since the Neandertal DNA was molecularly different from the DNA of the reference sample.