Another theory was that the Neanderthals had children with Homo sapiens, and gradually became part of their group. However, 1997 DNA analysis by geneticist Svante Paabo and his colleagues at the University of Munich determined that Neanderthal DNA is not included in the DNA of modern humans. This is rather convincing proof that the majority of Neanderthals probably died out, and people alive today are not their _____________.