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 the DNA of a premodern human had 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 their common ancestor probably lived 600,000 years ago.
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 the species had been around 100,000 years longer than previously estimated.
D. no differences, demonstrating that 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.
Answer: A
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