An undated artist’s impression of members of an ancient extinct human species called Denisovans seen in the Ganjia Basin landscape on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau in China’s Gansu province, depicting some of the animals whose bones were found in the Baishiya Karst Cave. | Photo credit: Reuters
Thousands of bone fragments found in a cave in China’s Tibetan Plateau provide a rare insight into the lives of the Denisovans, the mysterious cousins of Neanderthals and our own species, showing that they hunted a variety of animals from goats to woolly rhinos. high population.
The researchers studied more than 2,500 bones found in the Baishiya Karst Cave, which is located 10,760 feet (3,280 meters) above sea level and has previously yielded Denisovan fossil remains.
They used ancient protein analysis of these remains to reveal that the Denisovans exploited a variety of animals for their meat and skins, and also excavated and identified the rib bones of a Denisovan individual aged 48,000-32,000 years ago – the youngest Denisovan fossil yet known.
Most of the bones have been identified as blue sheep, also called bharal, a species of goat still seen in the mountains and high cliffs of the Himalayas. Other skeletal remains come from woolly rhinoceros, yaks, small mammals like guinea pigs, birds, and even from spotted hyenas, large carnivores that spread in the area called the Ganjia Basin.
It is a grassy landscape with small forest areas, teeming with life despite the harsh conditions. The animals were killed for meat, based on the cut marks found on various bones, and there is evidence of bone marrow extraction and skin activity. The researchers also found four tools made from animal bones, which were used to process animal carcasses.
“This is the first time we have gained an understanding of the subsistence behavior of the Denisovans, and it shows that they were able to access and use a wide range of animal resources,” said University of Copenhagen molecular anthropologist Frido Welker, one of the researchers. The research leader was published in the journal nature.
“I think the diverse fauna found in Baishiya Karst Cave shows that this location provided better resources compared to the higher Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese Loess Plateau to the north, especially during the glacial period,” he said. archaeologist Dongju Zhang. from Lanzhou University in China, another of the study leaders.
The existence of Denisovans was unknown until researchers in 2010 announced the discovery of their remains in Denisova Cave in Siberia, with genetic evidence showing them to be the sister group of Neanderthals, powerfully built extinct ancient humans who lived in parts of Eurasia. Both experienced significant interactions with Homo sapiens, including interbreeding, before disappearing shortly after for reasons that are not fully understood.
“From genetics, we know they diverged from Neanderthals about 400,000 years ago,” Welker said.
Denisovans are known only from dental remains and bone fragments from the Baishiya Karst and Denisova caves and Cobra Cave in Laos, although their presence in these three remote locations suggests a wide geographic distribution.
Its presence at high latitudes in Siberia, high altitudes in the Tibetan Plateau and subtropical locations in Laos “suggest that Denisovans have a high degree of flexibility to adapt to different environments,” Zhang said.
The lower jaw of a juvenile Denisovan previously found in Baishiya Karst is 160,000 years old. Researchers suspect that Denisovans have been there as long as 200,000 years ago. Newly identified rib fragments indicate that Denisovans were around 48,000-32,000 years ago.
“We don’t know if the ribs are from an adult or a child, or the genetic type. This is the first rib specimen that has been identified as Denisovan. The previous remains are all dental or cranial or mandibular (lower jaw),” said Welker.
Our species, Homo sapiens, did not inhabit the Tibetan Plateau until about 40,000 years ago, having first appeared in Africa more than 300,000 years ago.
So what happened to the Denisovans?
“Big question. We know very little,” Welker said. “We know that Denisovans interbred with modern humans. We know that based on some Denisovan DNA that is in the genomes of some modern humans living today. .”
