130,000-year-old tooth proves that Denisovans had spread to Laos – See pictures

A baby tooth, at least 130,000 years olddiscovered in a cave in Laos, testifies to the presence of Denisovans in the tropical climate of Southeast Asia and slightly lifts the veil of mystery around this extinct subspecies of archaic man.

Little is known about the Denisovans, a species considered the “cousin” of Neanderthals and first categorized in 2010. From a finger bone found in the Denisova cave in Siberia, paleontologists have been able to retrieve the complete genome of the species. Then, in 2019, a jaw with large teeth was found in Tibet, proving that this species also lived in this part of China.

Apart from these few relics, the Denisova man left no trace. their genome a large part of Denisovan DNA, up to 5%.

The Denisovans did not just live in what is now China and Russia. They also lived in balmy Southeast Asia! A new discovery of a likely Denisovan molar from a young girl was found in a cave in Laos https://t.co/g0KRPWHb9s Great piece by @cqchoi

– Laura Geggel (@LauraGeggel) May 17, 2022

Geneticists have concluded that the ancestors of these populations were mixed with Denisovans in Southeast Asia, explained paleoanthropologist Clement Zanoli, one of the authors of the study, published today in the journal Nature Communications.

But they lacked “tangible evidence” of the Denisovans’ presence in this part of Asia, far from the icy mountains of Siberia or Tibet.

Until a team of scientists undertook to explore the Cobra Cave, in northeastern Laos.

HeThe discovery of a Denisovan molar from the Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave) limestone cave

A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos | Fabrice Demeter, @jjhublin et alhttps: //t.co/lYfXOqA1U9
h / t @MarcKissel pic.twitter.com/Mu0NgYXduC

– MU-Peter Shimon 🀄 (@MU_Peter) May 17, 2022

This cave was discovered in 2018 by speleologists very close to the site of Tam Pa Ling, where many thousands of years old human remains have been found.

Animal bones and a banker with “human” features were found in the sediments of the cave walls, according to Zanoli. The experts determined that it belonged to a child aged 3-8 years, because it had not yet “burst” normally.

But in what species, in what period? The tooth was so old that it could not be dated to carbon 14 and its DNA could not be preserved due to the hot, humid climate, according to paleontologist Fabrice Demeter.

150,000-year-old Denisovan TOOTH discovered in Laos suggests Southeast Asia was a hotspot of diversity for early human species, study claims
via https://t.co/2kqeFCp4DL https://t.co/2xHSc9s90c

– CN (@ 22ColeRin) May 17, 2022

The researchers overcame this obstacle by dating the sediments that surrounded the tooth and the remains of the animals, as well as the upper layer. They concluded that the child lived 160,000-130,000 years ago. Then, by analyzing the inside of the tooth – which was temporarily transferred to Denmark – thanks to various methods, such as X-ray micrographs and protein analysis, they found that it belonged to a girl. And, another surprise, the tooth was revealed to have a similar structure to the bankers found in Tibet.

Although it had some features in common with Neanderthal teeth – a kind related to Denisovans – experts concluded that the girl was Denisovans because no trace of Neanderthals has ever been found so far east, as they seem to have “preferred” the icy West. according to Demeter.

In these tropics, the last Denisovans seem to have met and mingled with groups of modern humans during the Pleistocene and passed on their genetic heritage to the present-day populations of Southeast Asia.

Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave), Laos, includes fossil teeth accumulated by porcupines between 164,000 and 131,000 years ago. One hominin molar is similar in its anatomy to molars in a Denisovan mandible from Xiahe, China.
Photo: Fabrice Demeter pic.twitter.com/AP7XJvy41y

– John Hawks (@johnhawks) May 17, 2022

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