Ancient human tooth discovered in Laos cave may be first Denisovan fossil from South-East Asia

[Judi Lynn]

ABC Science /
By science reporter Belinda Smith
Posted Tue 17 May 2022 at 1:30pm

A single ancient tooth found in a Laos cave may be the first physical evidence of an extinct, enigmatic group of humans called Denisovans in South-East Asia.

The molar is unveiled in a study published in Nature Communications today by an international team, which concluded it once belonged to a young girl who lived as far back as 164,000 years ago.

And if added to the Denisovan catalogue, this would be just the third site in the world for such fossils — and one that's thousands of kilometres south of the others.

. . .

Traces of dalliances with Denisovans have been found in the genome of present-day populations, particularly in people indigenous to Australia, Papua New Guinea and some Pacific Islands, and, to a lesser extent, mainland South-East Asia.

More:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-05-18/denisovan-tooth-ancient-human-neanderthal-laos-cobra-cave/101069718

[niyad]

1. Thank you for posting this most imporrtant article.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Thank you, niyad.