"The authors found that the Cro-Magnon mtDNA fit well within the spectrum of genetic variation exhibited by modern Europeans, but differed sharply from that of the Neandertals. They conclude that it is unlikely that Neandertals contributed to the current European gene pool."
Not what the data shows. mtDNA is a girl thing. The data shows that Neanderthal women did not contribute their DNA to modern Europeans. It is likely a Cro-Magnon man/Neanderthal woman match would result in a baby with a head too big for her birth canal.
OTOH a Cro-Magnon woman/Neanderthal man match could easily result in a kid that is stronger than mom's people and smarter than dad's people.
Why do you suppose our propaganda is saturated with the depictions of the enemy as ape-men coming to get our wimin?
It speaks to something very deep in the human psyche...
It is likely a Cro-Magnon man/Neanderthal woman match would result in a baby with a head too big for her birth canal. OTOH a Cro-Magnon woman/Neanderthal man match could easily result in a kid that is stronger than mom's people and smarter than dad's people. Good point, actually.
Note that the "Liger" and the "Tigon" are hybrids, one is robust, the other weakly and generally does not survive into adulthood.
The possibility of one gender-based hybrid's success ( but untraceable DNA assimilation ) and the other hybrid's failure to leave a genetic legacy is a valid one.