Human History: A Journey of Interactions
Precis
Why; why is this interesting to me? Well on a macro level survival and resilience seem to be an ongoing theme or thread running through life and as a person with an unusually large proportion of Neanderthal DNA thoughts of the survival of ancestors through the Ice Age and intermixing between groups of different hominin species coming down to me are naturally of interest.
What does it mean for us regarding extinction? Then there is the question of the extinction of these hominin cousins. Is this the way we are going? Genetic and geographic isolation of Thorin and the last small group Neanderthals in France.
Survival seems to depend on cooperation?
First the Cave
Inside the Denisovia Cave: The meeting point for Neanderthals, Denisovians and Us
Citation: The Meeting Point - IFL ScienceThe Denisova Cave is the site of one of the most important crossroads in the history of humans. Not only does the cave contain evidence of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, but for several years it was the only place where remains were found of our lesser-known cousins: the Denisovans. The cave even features remains of related hybrids, indicating this mysterious location was linked to the inter-species mingling that still lives on in our genome today.
The cave is 700 meters up in the hills of the Altai mountain range in southern Russia. There have been at least four major periods of of human occupation at around 40,000 years ago, 16,000 years ago, and 8,000 years ago, but starting with Denisovans about 160,000 years ago.
The Denisovians
This species was only discovered in 2008 when researchers recovered a finger bone in the cave. The fragment didn’t seem remarkable at first but was well preserved and managed to sequence the whole mitochondrial genome. Based on this analysis, they realized this bone belonged to a young female of a previously unknown species of hominin which would become known as Denisovans. Named after the cave itself.
Denisovans are a bit like a sister species of Homo sapiens and Neandtherals which lived in Europe and western Asia for hundreds of thousands of years. They likely diverged from our lineage around 300,000 to 400,000 years ago, which is relatively recent. This suggests they likely looked and behaved a bit like Homo sapiens.
Even more surprisingly following further analysis of the nuclear genome the team reported that present-day people living on the islands of New Guinea and Bougainville in the southwestern Pacific Ocean have inherited 4–6% of their DNA from Denisovans, despite the fact that these islands are roughly 8,500 kilometers from Denisova Cave. This implied that modern humans interbred with Denisovans, and that Denisovans were once widespread across Asia.
In 2020 Fahu Chen at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing reported finding Denisovan DNA preserved in the sediments of Baishiya Karst Cave. This indicated that Denisovans were present there around 100,000 and 60,000 years ago, and that they might have stuck around until 45,000 years ago7. These two studies established that Denisovans lived successfully on the high-altitude Tibetan plateau. This fits with a 2014 genetic study, which found that modern Tibetans have inherited a Denisovan genetic variant that helps them to cope with low oxygen levels, presumably from ancient interbreeding between modern humans and Denisovans in that region.
Art and Aesthetics
The early humans in the Denisova cave had a sharp eye for artistry and beauty. Along with a wealth of objects made from bone and tusk, archaeologists working in the Denisova Cave have discovered a bracelet fashioned of polished green chloritolite.
Not only is the bracelet still stunning by today’s standards, but there is evidence it was also crafted with some kind of drill and then polished. It’s thought the bracelet was created by Neanderthals, who are known for their creativity.
Human Neanderthal interactions
The finding of a hybrid child’s bones, dated to around 28,000 years ago in a shallow rock shelter in central Portugal 27 years ago. When investigated researchers immediately noticed that the young skeleton had traits belonging to modern humans and to Neanderthals, suggesting these two groups once had children together.
This finding supports the idea that these populations did more than simply coexist. Genetic studies already confirm that many people today carry some Neanderthal DNA. Including Me 😃 Archaeologists mentioned that the bones were colored with red pigment. That detail suggests the child, likely only around four years old, might have been wrapped for a special burial.
The skeleton’s body proportions indicate mixed heritage. Experts say these features align with evidence that humans and Neanderthals shared genetic material, which still appears in modern populations.