Middle and Late Pleistocene Denisovan subsistence at Baishiya Karst Cave.

ABSTRACT: Genetic and fragmented palaeoanthropological data suggest that Denisovans were once widely distributed across eastern Eurasia^1-3. Despite limited archaeological evidence, this indicates that Denisovans were capable of adapting to a highly diverse range of environments. Here we integrate zooarchaeological and proteomic analyses of the late Middle to Late Pleistocene faunal assemblage from Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau, where a Denisovan mandible and Denisovan sedimentary mitochondrial DNA were found^3,4. Using zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry, we identify a new hominin rib specimen that dates to approximately 48-32 thousand years ago (layer 3). Shotgun proteomic analysis taxonomically assigns this specimen to the Denisovan lineage, extending their presen

SUBMITTER: Xia H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11291277 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature