It was my understanding that the theory that neanderthals co-mingled with humans had been disproven.
I thought the prevailing theory was that humans (with their superior skill sets) moved into neanderthal territory and essentially wiped them out.
No. For what it’s worth, NOVA just had a show last week that confirmed that most populations, except sub Saharan africans, have Neanderthal genes. Europeans apparently have the most. It is thought that these Neanderthal genes help confer immunity to many diseases.
Non-Africans Are Part Neanderthal, Genetic Research Shows
July 18, 2011 — Some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals and is found exclusively in people outside Africa, according to an international team of researchers led by Damian Labuda of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Montreal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center. The research was published in the July issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110718085329.htm
New research published in 2010 says that most people of European ancestry have 2-5% Neanderthal genes.