THE MISTERIOUS MAN OF DENISOVA
- Ibone Thate Arrazola
- 27 nov 2016
- 2 Min. de lectura
It is an evidence that we, actual humans, are the consequence of the first Homo Sapiens' interactions with other Homo . That's why we share certain gene sequences with the Neanderthals. According to several studies, different populations in Europe and Asia show slightly diverse levels of Neanderthal ascendance. This means that 'the first humans met this hominini numerous times during their expansion through Europe' explains Benjamin Vernot in his work published in Science.
However, a decade ago, a small fossil was found in a cave in Northern Siberia. The bone, a fragment of a little finger, belonged to a kid that lived 50.000 years ago. The surprise came when scientists realized that the child was part of an unknown group, a new species.
It was the misterious Man of Denisova, a Homo which is closely related to Neanderthals. Although he was named after the place where the finger was found (later, they would find two teeth), this species hasn´t been confirmed yet as a new species and it remains as 'indetermined'. In case that it would be accepted as another hominini, the name could be Homo siberiensis, Homo altaiensis or Homo denisoviensis, which is the most suitable option.
Researchers of the University of Washington and of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig have found out that populations living in the Melanesian Islands, separated by thousands of kilometers from the Siberian cave, have a 2% to 4% denisovan genome, apart from Neanderthal's genes.
But when and where did our ancestors met the extinct Denisovans? Unlikely to the numerous interactions between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis that happened through time, H.sapiens and Denisovans met just once.
These hominini moved from Siberia to Eastern Asia. Experts agree that Denisovans and Neanderthals were nomads. This lifestyle shall have taken them from Southeast Asia to Australia.
However, the contact with Neanderthals and Denisovans was advantageous for the new arrived Homo sapiens because the next generations inheritated genes that had a protective function against local pathogens. These neanderthal and denisovan genetic sequences helped humans in their surviving and their reproduction.
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