A fossil mandible (Penghu 1: 19,000 to 10,000 years ago) was discovered on the seabed of the Penghu Channel in Taiwan and reported as the first and oldest hominin fossil from Taiwan in 2015. Penghu 1 has distinct morphological characters and retains archaic features, but its taxonomic identity was unknown. Attempts were made to extract ancient DNA from this fossil, but these were unsuccessful.Now, an international research team from Japan, Taiwan, and Denmark has revealed that Penghu 1 was derived from a male Denisovan by sequencing its bone and tooth proteins. The molecular identification of Penghu 1, a Denisovan, has significant implications for human evolutionary history in eastern Asia.
The findings are published in the journal Science.
Modern human populations in eastern Asia, particularly in the southeast, have genomic elements derived from the Denisovans, and it has been suggested that the two interbred in the region. However, so far, the molecularly identified Denisovan fossils are very fragmentary and have been found only from two sites in northern Asia. This research has directly demonstrated that Denisovans were also distributed in southeastern Asia.
This research additionally revealed that the jaws and teeth of Denisovans were much more robust than those of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, who lived on Earth at the same time. These findings have shed light on the mysterious appearance and distribution of Denisovans.
Denisovan mandible found in Taiwan reveals robust jaws and teeth
Is this not a bigger find than they make it sound?