Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

Denisovan jawbone found on the Tibetan plateau sheds light on mysterious ancient humans

Proteins recovered from a newly identified Denisovan molar reveals new details about the lives of an extinct species of human.

Tibi Puiu by Tibi Puiu
May 2, 2019
in Science

The Xiahe mandible was originally found in 1980 in Baishiya Karst Cave. Credit: Dongju Zhang/Lanzhou University.
The Xiahe mandible was originally found in 1980 in Baishiya Karst Cave. Credit: Dongju Zhang/Lanzhou University.

The story of human evolution is not a straight line but rather a series of branching events. We now know that Homo sapiens were contemporaries not only with their famous cousins, the Neanderthals, but also with Homo floresiensis, the Denisovans (a species that lived around a cave in the Altai Mountains of western Siberia), and according to a recent study with fifth species, called Homo luzonensis. The Denisovans, which were first discovered in 2010, are particularly intriguing and mysterious since scientists could study them only from a few bone fragments and teeth — until now.

Reporting in a new study published in Nature, researchers say they’ve identified a jawbone that belonged to a Denisovan that lived more than 160,000 years ago in the Himalayas.

The Baishiya Karst Cave where the Denisovan jawbone was found. Credit: Dongju Zhang.
The Baishiya Karst Cave where the Denisovan jawbone was found. Credit: Dongju Zhang.

The lower jawbone with two remaining teeth was actually found three decades ago in the Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Platea. The Tibetan monk who found the stunning remains deep in the Himalayan mountains gave it to a local revered as a living Buddha, who passed it on scientists. A team of European and Chinese researchers has been carefully studying the jawbone ever since.

Researchers were not able to extract DNA from the mandible but managed to extract proteins from one of the molars. Their sequencing firmly identified the fossil as Denisovan — the first time researchers have identified the physical remains of a Denisovan outside the cave that gave them their name, Denisova Cave, in Siberia.

Researchers excavating the Baishiya Karst Cave. Credit: Dongju Zhang, Lanzhou University.
Researchers excavating the Baishiya Karst Cave. Credit: Dongju Zhang, Lanzhou University.

Ancient tools and animals bones showing cut marks were also retrieved from the same cave which stands almost 3,350 meters (11,000 feet) up on the plateau. If these remains were indeed left by Denisovans, they suggest that the ancient humans had adapted to high-altitude, low-oxygen environments long before the regional arrival of modern Homo sapiens. In fact, these traits were likely passed down to the modern human gene pool through interbreeding between the two species. We know this likely happened because DNA extracted from the Denisovan teeth in Siberia had genes shared with modern humans, among them one that is common in Tibetans, allowing them to live at high altitudes with low oxygen levels.

Scientists were always puzzled about how Tibetan populations came to carry a Denisovan gene seeing as the Siberian cave wasn’t at a high altitude. The new findings have now connected the dots.

In the future, the team of researchers, which includes members from Lanzhou University in China and the Max Planck Institute in Germany, hopes to find further Denisovan fossils in China which might still hold viable DNA.

 

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. The most energetic light recorded thus far hits Tibetan plateau
  2. A shattered tectonic plate underpins the Tibetan Plateau — explaining the area’s weird earthquakes
  3. Mysterious collapse of massive Tibetan glacier now attributed to global warming, scientists say
  4. Quartz in ancient bird stomach sheds new light on what it would have eaten
  5. Ancient tooth found in Laos sheds light on extinct human relative

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW