Pleistocene sediment DNA reveals hominin and faunal turnovers at Denisova Cave.

ABSTRACT: Denisova Cave in southern Siberia is the type locality of the Denisovans, an archaic hominin group who were related to Neanderthals^1-4. The dozen hominin remains recovered from the deposits also include Neanderthals^5,6 and the child of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan⁷, which suggests that Denisova Cave was a contact zone between these archaic hominins. However, uncertainties persist about the order in which these groups appeared at the site, the timing and environmental context of hominin occupation, and the association of particular hominin groups with archaeological assemblages^5,8-11. Here we report the analysis of DNA from 728 sediment samples that were collected in a grid-like manner from layers dating to the Pleistocene epoch. We retrieved anc

SUBMITTER: Zavala EI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8277575 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature