Denisovans, an extinct human species, once lived in East Asia, fossil shows

An international team of researchers has identified the prehistoric human mandible known as Penghu 1, found off the coast of Taiwan, as belonging to a male Denisovan. Denisovans are an extinct group of archaic humans previously known mainly from remains discovered in Siberia and Tibet. Using palaeoproteomic techniques, the team confirmed the fossil’s identity, extending the known Denisovan range into East Asia and offering new insights into their physical traits and environmental adaptability. The findings are published today (April 10, 2025) in Science The Penghu 1 mandible was recovered from the seabed in the Penghu Channel, an area that was part of the Asian mainland during Pleistocene-era low sea levels. Its age is estimated to be between 10 000 - 70 000 or 130 000 - 190 000 years old. While morphologically distinct and archaic, its exact placement in the evolutionary tree remained uncertain until now, because previous attempts to extract DNA had failed.‘Identifying Penghu 1 as Denisovan confirms inferences from modern human genetics that these ancient hominins were widespread across eastern Asia and adapted to diverse environments, from the cold north to warmer, humid regions like Pleistocene Taiwan,’ says Takumi Tsutaya, Assistant Professor at the Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, co-leading author on the paper, and leader of the Japan Science and Technology Agency FOREST project. ‘This discovery is crucial...