Scientist revealed mysterious Denisovans humans species used to live160,000 years ago on Tibetan plateau

Denisovans Human Species (Photo Credit - Reuters)

Denovians an extinct species of humans used to live inside the Baishiya Karst Cave, Tibetan Plateau.  Some 16,000 years ago these species called this place their home.

This discovery was made by archaeologists when they found bone remains in the Tibetan cave 3,280 metres located above sea level. They survived for millennia according to the research article published in the  Journal Nature.

The exact location of this cave is said to be near the city of Xiahe in China’s Gansu province. According to the evidence found on this archaeological site revealed that the Denovians could hunt and butcher different types of animals.

From the handful of remains found on the site, there was a rib cage bone fragment, which dates back to 48,000 and 32,000 years.  The analysis of this Denisovan individual's remains suggests they lived during a critical period of human history when modern humans were spreading across the Eurasian continent.

There was also jaw bone along with teeth found at the cave that dates back to around 160,000 years and after the DNA test, it was revealed that it contained a Denisovan molecular signature.

These findings prove that the Denovians were an adaptive species and their ability to survive through varying environmental conditions, shedding light on the complex interactions between archaic and modern human species during this epoch.

Researchers have examined 2,500 bones from the Baishiya Karst Cave, and a fresh study has shown that some species have survived climatic fluctuations, including an ice age that occurred between 200,000 and 40,000 years ago.

Dongju Zhang, an archaeologist and professor at Lanzhou University in China and one of the lead authors of a study published in the journal Nature, said about this discovery, “We know that the Denisovans lived, occupied the cave and this Tibetan plateau for such a long time, we really want to know, how did they live there? How did they adapt to the environment?” He further added, “They used all these animals available to them, so that means their behaviour is flexible.”

Discovery of Denisovans have been done around the world, one of the discoveries was of a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia.

This fragment was under lab test and revealed after studying its DNA sequence and genetic analysis of other samples that they have interbred with modern humans. It was also revealed that this ancient species also lived across the Asia continent.

Through interbreeding with Neanderthals and contemporary humans, Denisovans expanded their known geographic range from Siberia to regions of East Asia, encompassing the Tibetan Plateau. These prehistoric people were incredibly resourceful and resilient, adjusting to their harsh environment on the Tibetan Plateau.