Extinct human species lived together in Siberian cave, new research shows

FoxNews.com/Science ^ | Feb 15, 2019 | Walt Bonner | Fox News

[ETL]

Bones recently found in a Siberian cave have given researchers a new glimpse into the timeline of an extinct human species. The species – known as Denisovans – at one time lived alongside Neanderthals in the same cave, the evidence showed.

The only fossil evidence of the Denisovans was uncovered in Denisova Cave in the Russian Altai Mountains back in 1980, and amount to three teeth and bone fragments.

“Denisovans are a sister group to Neanderthals – that is, they are closer in terms of shared ancestry to Neanderthals than they are to modern humans,” study leader and geochronologist Dr. Richard Roberts of Australia’s University of Wollongong told Fox News.

“We know almost nothing about the physical appearance of the Denisovans, as we only have a few teeth (which are quite chunky) and even fewer scraps of bone.”

A new study revealed that the Denisovans lived in the cave from at least 200,000 to less than 50,000 years ago.

It was a popular cave with these extinct species – according to another recent study, it was also populated with Neanderthals at one point.

“[Denisovans] might have arrived as early as 300,000 years ago, but we don’t have any fossils or DNA associated with the 300,000-year-old artifacts,” Roberts said.

“We can also say that Neanderthals were present at Denisova Cave from at least 190,000 years ago until at least 90,000 years ago, but further fossil discoveries and DNA from the cave sediments may extend the time range of both Denisovans and Neanderthals at the site.”

Last year, a bone fragment from a girl was found in the cave. Her father had been a Denisovan and her mother a Neanderthal, so evidence of interbreeding between the two groups exists.

[Chode]

guess that was before segregation...