The molar of a Denisovan girl who lived more than 130,000 years ago may help answer how indigenous people living in Australia and other Pacific island nations share DNA with the early-human species. Until now, scientists haven’t understood how Denisovans, whose remains had previously been found only in western China and Siberia, contacted and interbred with modern humans who migrated east from Africa through Southeast Asia and settled in the southwest Pacific region. A new study, published yesterday (May 17) in Nature Communications, identifies a tooth found in Laos as Denisovan and bridges the geographical gap.
Scientists unearthed the tooth in caves within the Annamite Mountains in northern Laos, where they suspected Denisovans could have crossed paths with modern humans before they reached the southwest Pacific.
“We knew that Denisovans should be here. It’s nice to have some tangible evidence of their existence in this area,” study coauthor Laura Shackelford, ...
