Denisovan fossils in China reveal an ancient ‘hunting paradise’
Denisovan remains discovered in southwestern China reveal that Yunnan province’s warm, biodiverse plateau was a “hunting paradise” for the hominins during a global glacial period, according to new research published in the journal Nature. Within the region’s coniferous forests and forest-steppe environments, this archaic human group established a stable subsistence pattern highly adapted to local…
Recent discoveries in Yunnan province, southwestern China, have revealed a "hunting paradise" for Denisovans, an ancient human group, during a glacial period around 134,000 to 167,000 years ago. These findings, published in the journal Nature, were made possible by the examination of over 60,000 bone fragments, which scientists identified as belonging to Denisovans.
The cave, Bianfu Cave, provided evidence of a stable subsistence pattern adapted to the local environment, characterized by coniferous forests and forest-steppe ecosystems. The Denisovans, who diverged from modern humans and Neanderthals several hundred thousand years ago, are believed to have specialized in hunting medium and large animals.
Their tools were crafted from stones, and they utilized unshaped animal bones extensively. The research sheds new light on the appearance, evolution, and behavior of Denisovans, filling a significant geographic gap in the understanding of their distribution. The discovery of these fossils also supports the hypothesis that Denisovans were widely present across Asia, particularly in the southeast, a theory supported by genetic evidence found in modern Southeast Asian populations.
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