A jawbone discovered in Taiwan has been identified as belonging to an enigmatic group of early human ancestors called Denisovans, scientists reported Thursday. The discovery expands the known region where Denisovans lived and sheds light on this mysterious group.
Denisovans are an extinct group of human cousins that interacted with Neanderthals and our own species, Homo sapiens. With only a few confirmed finds in East Asia, little is known about them. The new research uses protein sequences extracted from the jawbone to make the identification.
The fossil was discovered when a fishing operation dredged the seafloor in the Penghu Channel near Taiwan Strait. It was initially sold and later donated to Taiwan’s National Museum of Natural Science. Analysis revealed that the fossil dated back to the Pleistocene era and contained protein sequences similar to those found in a Denisovan fossil from Siberia.
While the findings are promising, Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Project, has expressed caution and called for further data before confirming the identification. The discovery highlights the possibility that Denisovans and other human ancestor groups coexisted in Eurasia.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/denisovan-human-ancestor-taiwan-bea8556942c2d73370e2c2a6406e66f5