Fossilized remains belonging to an enigmatic population of extinct hominins have been discovered by archaeologists conducting excavations in a cave in southwestern China, revealing new details about their way of life. The new discoveries, which include four teeth, part of an arm bone, and two skull fragments, bring the total number of known fossils of these mysterious human relatives, known as Denisovans, to more than 20.
The discovery also turns Bianfu Cave, in the mountains of Yunnan province, into a major new site for the study of human ancestry. Alongside the seven Denisovan fossils, researchers uncovered tools made from bone and stone, as well as fossilized pollen and animal remains. The finds paint a vivid picture of how the Denisovans who settled in the cave lived within the region's coniferous forests between 167,000 and 134,000 years ago, according to two studies published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature. "Initially, we found isolated teeth, and later, among the massive volume of animal fossils, we identified the bones. However, in the beginning, it was very difficult to find the fragments," said Hao Li, a research professor at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and co-author of both studies. "We are very fortunate because this is the first site in southern China with a direct link between Denisovan fossils and rich cultural artifacts. This is extremely rare," he added.
Until now, research on Denisovans relied heavily on isolated discoveries with complex and uncertain histories, such as a skull retrieved from a well in northeastern China and a jawbone pulled from the seabed by a fishing vessel. A team of scientists first identified the Denisovans in 2010 by analyzing ancient DNA extracted from a tiny finger bone found in Denisova Cave in Siberia, which gave the group its name. The discovery marked a major milestone, as it was the first time a previously unknown hominin species was identified exclusively through genetic analysis. However, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and our own species, Homo sapiens, are known to have taken shelter and coexisted within Denisova Cave. Attempting to draw specific conclusions about the daily lifestyle of Denisovans solely from that site proved exceptionally difficult. This is why Bianfu Cave is generating such intense interest among paleoanthropologists: it appears to have been inhabited exclusively by Denisovans for a significant period. Consequently, researchers discovered the fossils in their original context alongside ancient tools and organic remains, enabling archaeologists to date the finds with far greater accuracy and uncover unprecedented details about the group's behavioral habits.
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