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BBC News
17-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Ancient jawbone could have come our Denisovan ancestors
An ancient jaw bone discovered by fisherman in Taiwan, could help us understand more about our ancestors. The bone is thought to be at least 10,000 years old and could belong to the Denisovans, early humans who are related to us, but who experts don't know a lot tests are needed before it can be confirmed to be Denisovan - but if it is from this group, it's hoped it could help us understand more about how and where they being found by the fishermen, it was sold to an antique shop where a collector spotted it and bought it 2008. It was only later that it was donated to Taiwan's National Museum of Natural Science and further research began to try and unearth who it belonged to. Who did this jawbone belong to? While the fossil been linked to a variety of different groups over time, the new research published in the journal Science, hopes to finally put this debate to rest. Although the condition of the fossil has made it impossible to study the ancient DNA, some scientists in Taiwan, Japan and Denmark have been able to extract some protein comparing these to other remains, the researchers believe that it represents the lower jaw of a Denisovan remaining bone fragments show a strong jaw and very large, powerful fossil has been dated to the Pleistocene era, a period that spanned from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago. Who are Denisovans and how much do we know about them? At one time, at least three human ancestor groups — Denisovans, Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens — lived side by side and sometimes mixed. Denisovans are the least understood group, as so far the only fossils of them found have been fragmented have included jawbones, teeth, and finger bones found in caves in Siberia and Tibet, but some researchers also think that fossils discovered in a cave in Laos could be attributed to Tsutaya of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan has said that if the jawbone from Taiwan is Denisovan, it expands the region where scientists know these ancient people once genetic signs of Denisovans have been found across large parts of Asia, and it's thought that they passed on genes that help with life at high altitudes to the people living in the mountain country of Tibet.
Ammon
16-04-2025
- Science
- Ammon
Ancient jawbone found in sea belongs to mysterious human ancestors, scientists say
Ammon News - An ancient jawbone discovered in Taiwan belonged to an enigmatic group of early human ancestors called Denisovans, scientists reported Thursday. Relatively little is known about Denisovans, an extinct group of human cousins that interacted with Neanderthals and our own species, Homo sapiens. "Denisovan fossils are very scarce," with only a few confirmed finds in East Asia, said study co-author Takumi Tsutaya at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan. So far, the only known Denisovan fossils include partial jawbones, a few teeth and part of a finger bone found in caves in Siberia and Tibet. Some scientists believe fossils found in a cave in Laos may also belong to Denisovans. The probable identification of the jawbone from Taiwan as Denisovan expands the region where scientists know these ancient people once lived, said Tsutaya.
Ammon
12-04-2025
- Science
- Ammon
Ancient jawbone from Taiwan belongs to a mysterious group of human ancestors
Ammon News - An ancient jawbone discovered in Taiwan belonged to an enigmatic group of early human ancestors called Denisovans, scientists reported Thursday. Relatively little is known about Denisovans, an extinct group of human cousins that interacted with Neanderthals and our own species, Homo sapiens. ' Denisovan fossils are very scarce,' with only a few confirmed finds in East Asia, said study co-author Takumi Tsutaya at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan. So far, the only known Denisovan fossils include partial jawbones, a few teeth and part of a finger bone found in caves in Siberia and Tibet. Some scientists believe fossils found in a cave in Laos may also belong to Denisovans. The probable identification of the jawbone from Taiwan as Denisovan expands the region where scientists know these ancient people once lived, said Tsutaya. The partial jawbone was first recovered when a fishing operation dredged the seafloor in the Penghu Channel near the Taiwan Strait. After it was sold to an antique shop, a collector spotted it and purchased it in 2008, then later donated it to Taiwan's National Museum of Natural Science. Based on the composition of marine invertebrates found attached to it, the fossil was dated to the Pleistocene era. But exactly which species of early human ancestor it belonged to remained a mystery. The condition of the fossil made it impossible to study ancient DNA. But recently, scientists in Taiwan, Japan and Denmark were able to extract some protein sequences from the incomplete jawbone. An analysis showed some protein sequences resembled those contained in the genome of a Denisovan fossil recovered in Siberia. The findings were published in the journal Science. While the new research is promising, Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Project, said he would like to see further data before confirming the Taiwan fossil as Denisovan. Potts, who was not involved in the new research, praised the study for 'a fantastic job of recovering some proteins.' But he added, such a small sliver of material may not give a full picture. At one time, at least three human ancestor groups — Denisovans, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens — coexisted in Eurasia and sometimes interbred, researchers say.
CBS News
11-04-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Ancient jawbone found in sea belongs to mysterious human ancestors, scientists say
An ancient jawbone discovered in Taiwan belonged to an enigmatic group of early human ancestors called Denisovans , scientists reported Thursday. Relatively little is known about Denisovans, an extinct group of human cousins that interacted with Neanderthals and our own species, Homo sapiens. "Denisovan fossils are very scarce," with only a few confirmed finds in East Asia, said study co-author Takumi Tsutaya at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan. So far, the only known Denisovan fossils include partial jawbones, a few teeth and part of a finger bone found in caves in Siberia and Tibet. Some scientists believe fossils found in a cave in Laos may also belong to Denisovans. The probable identification of the jawbone from Taiwan as Denisovan expands the region where scientists know these ancient people once lived, said Tsutaya. "Denisovans must therefore have been capable of adapting to a wide range of habitat types," study co-author Frido Welker told the Reuters news agency . The partial jawbone was first recovered when a fishing operation dredged the seafloor in the Penghu Channel near the Taiwan Strait. After it was sold to an antique shop, a collector spotted it and purchased it in 2008, then later donated it to Taiwan's National Museum of Natural Science. Based on the composition of marine invertebrates found attached to it, the fossil was dated to the Pleistocene era. But exactly which species of early human ancestor it belonged to remained a mystery. The condition of the fossil made it impossible to study ancient DNA. But recently, scientists in Taiwan, Japan and Denmark were able to extract some protein sequences from the incomplete jawbone. An analysis showed some protein sequences resembled those contained in the genome of a Denisovan fossil recovered in Siberia. The findings were published in the journal Science . While the new research is promising, Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Project, said he would like to see further data before confirming the Taiwan fossil as Denisovan. Potts, who was not involved in the new research, praised the study for "a fantastic job of recovering some proteins." But he added, such a small sliver of material may not give a full picture. At one time, at least three human ancestor groups - Denisovans, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens - coexisted in Eurasia and sometimes interbred , researchers say. "We can identity Neanderthal elements and Denisovan elements" in the DNA of some people alive today, said Tsutaya. Scientists still don't know exactly why Denisovans went extinct. "We have so little archaeological and fossil information about Denisovans that we can only speculate as to why they disappeared," Welker told Reuters. "A lasting legacy, though, is that some human populations in East and Southeast Asia carry some Denisovan ancestry in their genomes today."
CBS News
11-04-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Rare ancient jawbone found in sea belongs to mysterious human ancestors, scientists say
An ancient jawbone discovered in Taiwan belonged to an enigmatic group of early human ancestors called Denisovans , scientists reported Thursday. Relatively little is known about Denisovans, an extinct group of human cousins that interacted with Neanderthals and our own species, Homo sapiens. "Denisovan fossils are very scarce," with only a few confirmed finds in East Asia, said study co-author Takumi Tsutaya at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan. So far, the only known Denisovan fossils include partial jawbones, a few teeth and part of a finger bone found in caves in Siberia and Tibet. Some scientists believe fossils found in a cave in Laos may also belong to Denisovans. The probable identification of the jawbone from Taiwan as Denisovan expands the region where scientists know these ancient people once lived, said Tsutaya. "Denisovans must therefore have been capable of adapting to a wide range of habitat types," study co-author Frido Welker told the Reuters news agency . The partial jawbone was first recovered when a fishing operation dredged the seafloor in the Penghu Channel near the Taiwan Strait. After it was sold to an antique shop, a collector spotted it and purchased it in 2008, then later donated it to Taiwan's National Museum of Natural Science. Based on the composition of marine invertebrates found attached to it, the fossil was dated to the Pleistocene era. But exactly which species of early human ancestor it belonged to remained a mystery. The condition of the fossil made it impossible to study ancient DNA. But recently, scientists in Taiwan, Japan and Denmark were able to extract some protein sequences from the incomplete jawbone. An analysis showed some protein sequences resembled those contained in the genome of a Denisovan fossil recovered in Siberia. The findings were published in the journal Science . While the new research is promising, Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Project, said he would like to see further data before confirming the Taiwan fossil as Denisovan. Potts, who was not involved in the new research, praised the study for "a fantastic job of recovering some proteins." But he added, such a small sliver of material may not give a full picture. At one time, at least three human ancestor groups - Denisovans, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens - coexisted in Eurasia and sometimes interbred , researchers say. "We can identity Neanderthal elements and Denisovan elements" in the DNA of some people alive today, said Tsutaya. Scientists still don't know exactly why Denisovans went extinct. "We have so little archaeological and fossil information about Denisovans that we can only speculate as to why they disappeared," Welker told Reuters. "A lasting legacy, though, is that some human populations in East and Southeast Asia carry some Denisovan ancestry in their genomes today."
