We present a simple population synthesis scheme which recognizes composite starburst+Seyfert 2 nuclei from a few easy-to-obtain optical measurements. Composite systems seem to evolve towards less luminous Seyfert 2s which do not harbor detectable circum-nuclear starbursts. We encourage applications of this cheap diagnostic tool to large samples of Seyfert 2s, as well as its extension to other activity classes, in order to test and refine this evolutionary scenario.
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