April
01
/ 2019
A study has made a startling claim. It argues that an extinct species of humans, the Denisovans, may have mated with modern humans ( Homo sapiens) as late as 15,000 years ago. This claim is based on the genetic analysis of Papuans’ DNA and could transform our understanding of the evolution of modern humans. It seems that the Denisovans survived until relatively recent times, and that they mated with Homo sapiens for thousands of years. The Denisovans ( Homo denisova) were hominids related to the Neanderthals, but the two species diverged about three quarters of a million years ago. All that is known about them comes from a single cave in Siberia, the Denisova cave. Recently archaeologists uncovered “two pieces
