6 May 2019

Who were the Denisovans?

From Afternoons, 1:28 pm on 6 May 2019

Archaeologists have unearthed a jawbone in Tibet which changes the way we see our pre-human relatives. Until very recently the only remains of Denisovans that we've been able to find have been in a Siberian cave called Denisova. 

This is a particularly exciting development for researchers of Neanderthals and suggests a much wider range than was ever imagined for pre-human migration. It's also an interesting story for the Pacific as Melanesia in particular has a strong Denisovan legacy.