Wowza! A Mysterious human fossil jaw found in Taiwan was a #Denisovan #Hominid! Very far south from its initial find location.
“…a fossilized jawbone discovered more than 20ya named Penghu 1 was dredged up by fishing crews 25 km off the west coast of #Taiwan.”
wow - this expands the realm of #Denisovans a lot.
10-Apr-2025
A new #Denisovan
mandible from #Taiwan
Ancient #protein analysis revealed that the oldest #hominin #fossil in Taiwan was derived from a male Denisovan
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1079260
Paper is out in #Science #anthropology
Seriously exciting! A robust mandible identified as that of a #Denisovan man from #Taiwan. #Proteomics were used in the study
'Although genomic studies suggest that they were widespread throughout Asia, fossils of this group have thus far only been identified from regions with cold climates, Siberia and Tibet. Tsutaya et al. used ancient proteomic analysis on a previously unidentified hominin mandible from Taiwan and identified it as having belonged to a male Denisovan. This identification confirms previous genomic predictions of the group’s widespread occurrence, including in warmer climates. The robust nature of this mandible is similar to that seen in a Denisovan one from Tibet, suggesting that this is a consistent trait for the lineage'
#anthropology #paleontology #humanevolution #EastAsia
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads3888
what we have learned so far about #Denisovan diversity, multiple introgression events and the distinct environments implicated
Review in #NatureGenetics
#palaeogenetics #humanevolution #anthropology
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01960-y
Mysterious Denisovans may have overlapped with modern humans on Tibetan Plateau
https://www.science.org/content/article/mysterious-denisovans-may-have-overlapped-modern-humans-tibetan-plateau #archaeology #denisovan #tibet #BaishiyaKarstCave #OverlappedIsAnUnderstatement
How Denisovans thrived on top of the world: mysterious ancient humans’ survival secrets revealed
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02194-y #archaeology #denisovan #cave #tibet #china #diet #DNA