Our extinct cousins the Denisovans had a 'distinctive' appearance, new analysis reveals

New analysis of Denisovan skulls reveals distinctive appearance. Researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology used paleoproteomic analysis to identify 20 Denisovan remains from the Xujiayao site in northern China. The Xujiayao skulls exhibited both similarities and differences to Neanderthals, modern humans, and Homo erectus.

The back of the skull was more vertical and less rounded than in Neanderthals or modern humans, while the teeth shared similarities with both Neanderthals and modern humans. This combination of traits supports the classification of most East Asian late Middle Pleistocene archaic Homo as Denisovans. The researchers created a new reconstruction of a Denisovan man, showing a low, wide braincase mostly hidden by dark hair and a massive brow ridge, set apart from both Neanderthals and modern humans.