A fossilized jawbone found in Taiwan's Penghu channel has been identified as belonging to the Denisovans, an ancient human group. The jawbone, known as Penghu 1, includes intact teeth and was uncovered by fishing crews over two decades ago. Recent research, published in the journal Science, utilized novel techniques to extract ancient proteins from the fossil, revealing its Denisovan origin. This finding not only expands the known range of Denisovans from colder to warmer climates but also provides molecular evidence linking to other Denisovan remains previously identified in Siberia and Tibet.
I'm very excited to see this," says Janet Kelso, a computational biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. "This expands our understanding of Denisovans and their geographical range."
Researchers spent over two years carefully refining techniques for extracting ancient proteins from animal bones sourced from the Penghu channel. It's groundbreaking work that illuminates Denisovan existence in warmer climates.
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