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Scientific American
2 hours ago
- Science
- Scientific American
First Near-Complete Denisovan Skull Reveals What This Ancient Human Cousin Looked Like
A prominent brow ridge with a brain as large as modern humans and Neanderthals — that's what the archaic human group, the Denisovans, looked like, according to work published this week in Cell and Science. Palaeontologists used ancient molecules to identify a cranium found near Harbin in northeastern China as belonging to the group. It's the first time a near-complete skull has been definitively linked to the extinct people. The fossil, which is at least 146,000 years old, ends a decade and a half of speculation about the Denisovans' appearance. This had remained a mystery since scientists identified them from unique DNA taken from a finger bone found in a Siberian cave in 2010. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. 'It's really exciting to finally have Denisovan DNA from a nearly complete cranium,' says Janet Kelso, a computational biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. 'We finally have some insights into the cranial morphology of the Denisovans,' she says. 'It's really exciting to finally have Denisovan DNA from a nearly complete cranium,' says Janet Kelso, a computational biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. 'We finally have some insights into the cranial morphology of the Denisovans,' she says. Dragon Man The 'massive' cranium — the upper portion of the skull, lacking the lower jawbone — is one of the best preserved of all archaic human fossils, according to researchers who first described it in 2021. Qiang Ji, a palaeontologist at Hebei GEO University in Shijiazhuang, China, obtained the specimen from an unnamed man in 2018. The man — who Ji suspects discovered the artefact himself but failed to report it to authorities — claimed that his grandfather unearthed the fossil in 1933 during bridge-construction work over Long Jiang (which means dragon river), and buried it in an abandoned well, where it remained until a deathbed confession. In 2021, Ji and his colleagues determined that the 'Dragon Man' fossil represented a new archaic human species, which they crowned Homo longi 4. Molecular sleuthing When Ji published those findings, Qiaomei Fu, a geneticist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, got in touch. Fu worked on the very first Denisovan DNA from the Siberian finger bone and wanted to see whether the Dragon Man fossil contained any ancient molecules. She and her team first attempted to extract ancient DNA from a part of the skull called the petrous bone — often a good source — and from an attached tooth. They didn't recover any genetic material but did extract and sequence fragments from 95 ancient proteins from the petrous samples. Fu compared these with Neanderthal, modern human and Denisovan sequences. One protein sequence from the Harbin fossil was identical to that of a protein from the Siberian finger bone, as well as from Denisovans uncovered in Tibet and Taiwan, but differed from proteins in modern humans and Neanderthals. That suggested the Dragon Man individual was a Denisovan. Fu's team identified two further, less conclusive, protein matches. It's the second time this year that researchers have used ancient proteins to identify a fossil as Denisovan. In April, Takumi Tsutaya, a bioarchaeologist at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Kanagawa, Japan, and his colleagues identified a Taiwanese jawbone as belonging to a Denisovan. Tsutaya says that he was amazed to learn that another Denisovan has already been identified. But Fu says that she wanted further evidence. She turned to a tiny chip of calcified dental plaque, or calculus. Fu looked for DNA from the host among the bacterial DNA in the sample. And she found it. Genetic sequences from the maternally inherited mitochondrial genome of the Dragon Man skull were most closely related to early Denisovans from Siberia, which were between 187,000 and 217,000 years old. Fu says that this is the first time that host DNA has been recovered from dental calculus from the Palaeolithic era, which ended 12,000 years ago. Rikai Sawafuji, a geneticist at Kyushu University in Fukoka, Japan, who worked on the Taiwanese fossil, was surprised that the team recovered human DNA from the calculus, given that no DNA was recovered from the petrous bone. She says this could spur other researchers to analyse ancient plaque from Palaeolithic fossils. 'If there is some dental calculus,' she says, 'people can extract human mitochondrial DNA from those samples' to learn more about prehistoric human migrations. Potentially more important is that scientists now have a Denisovan cranium that researchers can use to identify other Denisovan specimens in their collections, even if no ancient DNA or protein can be found.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Haunting ‘Dragon Man' skull is first ever found from lost human cousin ‘Denisovan' species that lived 217,000 years ago
THE face of humans' most mysterious ancestor has finally been uncovered after 217,000 years. The discovery proves that the 'Dragon Man' of China is indeed a Denisovan, a long lost ancestral species. Advertisement 4 The fossil, which is at least 146,000 years old, reveals Denisovan's had a prominent brow ridge and a brain as large as modern humans and Neanderthals Credit: Xijun Ni It is the first time a near-complete skull has been definitively linked to the extinct people. The fossil, which is at least 146,000 years old, reveals Denisovans had a prominent brow ridge and a brain as large as modern humans and Neanderthals. They even had more modern features, like delicate cheekbones. Their relatively flat lower face doesn't jut out like it does in other primates and more ancient hominins. Advertisement READ MORE ON ARCHAEOLOGY The massive size of the skull also suggests a very large body, which could have helped it survive brutal winters in northeastern China. "Having a well-preserved skull like this one allows us to compare the Denisovans to many more different specimens found in very different places," paleoanthropologist Bence Viola of the University of Toronto, who was not involved in the new study, told " This means we might be able to compare their body proportions and start thinking about their adaptations to climate, for example." Scientists have long speculated about the appearance of the mysterious Denisovans. Advertisement Most read in Science Exclusive Exclusive Other bones relating to the ancient ancestor have been discovered over the decades, such as a But none more intact than the 'Dragon Man' or 'Harbin skull'. Face of oldest direct human ancestor, which lived 3.8million years ago, revealed by scientists A finger bone found in Denisova Cave, Siberia, in 2010 was the first example of the elusive Denisovans - and where they got their unofficial name. "It's really exciting to finally have Denisovan DNA from a nearly complete cranium," Janet Kelso, a computational biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, told Advertisement "We finally have some insights into the cranial morphology of the Denisovans." 4 Other bones relating to the ancient ancestor have been discovered over the decades, such as a robust jawbone found off the coast of Taiwan in the 2000s which was recently attributed to the Denisovans Credit: Yousuke Kaifu In 2021, a team of Chinese researchers made the controversial claim that a bizarre skull they had found could belong to a previously unknown species. They dubbed this unknown species Homo longi, nicknamed 'Dragon Man', inspired by the Long Jiang Dragon River region where the skull was found. Advertisement The fossil is believed to have been hidden by a Chinese labourer for 85 years, before the man's grandson handed the specimen to Qiang Ji, a palaeontologist at Hebei GEO University in Shijiazhuang in 2018. Ji, who co-authored the original Homo longi paper, suspects the man discovered the artefact himself but failed to report it to authorities. The grandson claimed the fossil was unearthed the fossil in 1933 during bridge-construction work over the Long Jiang river. The construction worker then supposedly buried it in an abandoned well, where it remained until a deathbed confession. Advertisement When Ji published his findings in 2021, Qiaomei Fu of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing - who worked on the very first Denisovan DNA from the Siberian finger bone - wanted to see if they shared any ancient molecules. Ji and Fu's team first attempted to extract ancient DNA from a part of the skull called the petrous bone in the inner ear - where DNA might survive after 146,000 years - and from an attached tooth. They didn't recover any genetic material. But what they did find was sequence fragments from 95 ancient proteins from the petrous samples. Advertisement One protein sequence from the Dragon Man fossil was identical to that of a protein from the Siberian finger bone, as well as Denisovan bones from Tibet and Taiwan, the experts reveal in two papers published in the journals and this week . This protein sequence differed from modern humans and Neanderthals - suggesting the man was likely a Denisovan. "After 15 years, we give the Denisovan a face," said Fu. "It's really a special feeling, I feel really happy." It is understood the new species will adopt the Homo longi name, like we humans are Homo sapiens. Advertisement 4 The massive size of the skull also suggests a very large body, which could have helped it survive brutal winters in northeastern China Credit: Chuang Zhao 4 It is understood the new species will adopt the Homo longi name, like we humans are Homo sapiens Credit: John Bavaro Fine Art / Science Photo Library
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ancient DNA from Papua New Guinea reveals centuries of genetic isolation
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The first ancient human genomes analyzed from Papua New Guinea reveal that some of the early groups that lived there were completely genetically isolated from their neighbors, showing there was little intermarriage at multiple points in time, a new study finds. New Guinea is the second largest island in the world, after Greenland. It and its outlying isles were vital launch points for early seafaring journeys into the wider Pacific, culminating with the settlement of some of the last islands on Earth to be permanently inhabited, scientists noted. However, until now, much remained unknown about its ancient genetic history. In a new study, researchers analyzed ancient DNA from the bones and teeth of 42 people who lived as long as 2,600 years ago on Papua New Guinea — the nation inhabiting the eastern half of New Guinea — and the nearby Bismarck Archipelago, northeast of the main island. "This was a very long time in the making," study co-lead author Kathrin Nägele, an archaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, told Live Science. "DNA preservation in tropical environments is extremely challenging." Previous research suggested that New Guinea and outlying areas were first settled more than 50,000 years ago. Much later, by about 3,300 years ago, new seafaring peoples with Asian ancestry arrived at the Bismarck Archipelago. This group, which archaeologists have dubbed the Lapita culture, is renowned for their intricate pottery and farming practices, which included raising pigs, dogs and chickens, as well as growing coconuts, bananas, yams and varieties of breadfruit. The new findings unexpectedly revealed the earliest known inhabitants of the Bismarck Archipelago and the Lapita people did not mix genetically for centuries. However, one individual examined suggested they were the result of intermixing about 2,100 years ago. "Despite the co-occupation, it seems the different groups didn't mix for a long time, which is quite unusual for human encounters," study co-lead author Rebecca Kinaston, an anthropologist and director of BioArch South, an archaeology and forensic anthropology consultancy in New Zealand, said in a statement. Related: Easter Island's population never collapsed because it never got that big, researchers suggest These findings also shed light on the ancestry of remote Oceanic islands such as Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. They support prior research that Papuans and the Lapita independently arrived at those distant isles and intermarried there, as opposed to mixing first at New Guinea and nearby isles and then voyaging to those remote lands. "It suggests the Papuans were separately capable of remarkable seafaring," Nägele said. "The seafaring hunter-gatherers on Papua New Guinea have likely been underestimated, just as hunter-gatherer societies tend to be underestimated all over." Another striking discovery occurred when the scientists analyzed two communities that inhabited the south coast of Papua New Guinea between 150 and 500 years ago. "Although these two communities only lived a few kilometers apart, they were unexpectedly genetically different," Nägele said. "Looking into the direct family relations between the two sites, we had to go six generations back to find a common ancestor, which means that for six generations, the two groups did not mix despite the close proximity and no geological barriers between them." Both groups had a mix of Papuan-related and Southeast Asia-related ancestries. One group, buried at the site Eriama, showed more of the Papuan-related ancestry compared to the site of Nebira, where Asian ancestry was the larger component. Why did these groups stop mixing with each other? One possibility is a climatically challenging time on New Guinea between 1,200 and 500 years ago, which may have seen increased El Niño events, such as major droughts. RELATED STORIES —Some of the 1st ice age humans who ventured into Americas came from China, DNA study suggests —Polynesians and Native Americans paired up 800 years ago, DNA reveals —Newly discovered 'ghost' lineage linked to ancient mystery population in Tibet, DNA study finds "Settlements were abandoned — people might have retreated to unknown places that were more viable," Nägele said. "We think wherever these people were, they started engaging in new trade networks. Nebira appeared to engage more with coastal groups, and Eriama more with inland groups from the highlands. This might have led to different identities, different cuisines, and other differences that led to cultural diversification." In the future, the researchers hope to collect older genetic data, as well as samples from the highlands of New Guinea and the first Asian-related people to arrive on the coast of the island. "Papua New Guinea is such a diverse place in so many regards, that we have only just scratched the surface of what is to learn about the past of the second largest island in the world," Nägele said. The scientists detailed their findings June 4 in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
CairoScene
25-05-2025
- Science
- CairoScene
Oldest Known Use of Harmal Unearthed in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk Region
Harmal residue discovered in a 2,700-year-old tomb offers rare insight into Iron Age Arabian culture. A new study published in Communications Biology has revealed the earliest known use of the harmal plant (Peganum harmala) in the Arabian Peninsula, dating back approximately 2,700 years. The discovery was made at the ancient Midianite site of Qurayyah in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk region, where archaeologists recovered charred remains of the plant from a burial context. Led by Saudi Arabia's Heritage Commission in collaboration with Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of Vienna, the research team used advanced chemical analysis—including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry—to detect alkaloids specific to Peganum harmala. The plant, widely known for its psychoactive and antibacterial properties, has long been used in traditional healing and rituals across the Middle East. The presence of harmal in an Iron Age tomb suggests that it served both medicinal and ceremonial functions, pointing to a complex understanding of botanical pharmacology in ancient Arabia. The study not only provides rare physical evidence of plant-based medicine from the Iron Age, but also adds to emerging research that links cultural practice with early scientific knowledge in the region.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
East Asians began evolving to drink milk before they reared cattle
Female mammals produce milk to nourish their young. Much of the nourishment comes from lactose, the major sugar in milk. The lactose is broken down in the infant's small intestine into the more simpler sugars, glucose, and galactose, which are readily absorbed by the small intestine. The break-down, or digestion, of lactose is mediated by an enzyme called lactase. After weaning, a baby rapidly loses the ability to produce lactase. When adults consume milk, cheese, ice cream or other dairy products, many of them experience unpleasant effects like bloating, flatulence, and diarrhoea. This is because the undigested lactose passes into the large intestine, where it is utilised by the bacteria residing there. This produces hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane, and the unabsorbed sugars increase water flow into the bowels to produce diarrhoea. These are the hallmarks of lactose intolerance. Yet millions of people around the world regularly indulge in milkshakes, cheese pizzas, and ice cream sundaes even as adults. This is because they carry genetic mutations that allow them to continue producing lactase even as adults. This trait is called lactase persistence. A textbook example The mutations that confer lactase persistence emerged independently in different populations. Their emergence in North European and African populations in particular appears to have coincided with the domestication of cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep, and other livestock, which began about 11,000 years ago. The cultural shift from hunting/gathering to pastoralism gave continued access to meat, milk, and hides from herds of domesticated animals. The coincidental emergence of lactase persistence mutations with livestock domestication was taken by many scientists at the time to be a 'textbook example' of convergent evolution. That is, the independent evolution of similar traits in distantly related populations. Experts believed it was driven, in the words of a 2007 paper in Nature Genetics, by the 'strong selective pressure resulting from shared cultural traits — animal domestication and adult milk consumption'. A wrinkle in the textbook Scientists may need to reevaluate this neat summation in the light of new findings reported by a team of researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai, China; the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany; and the Université de Lyon in France. Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers found a distinct evolutionary pathway for lactase persistence in East Asian populations, which includes the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Vietnamese. Unlike the gene-and-culture coevolution well-documented in African and European groups, the East Asian lactase persistence gene had come from the Neanderthals, an archaic group of humans that went extinct about 30,000 years ago. When the researchers conducted population genetic analyses of the part of the genome containing the lactase gene, they found evidence of pre-agricultural selection pressures beginning more than 30,000 years ago. That is, the East Asian genomes began evolving towards lactase persistence several millennia before these populations began to domesticate livestock. This early evolution likely targeted advantages related to the immune system rather than lactose digestion directly. The researchers found the East Asian (Neanderthal-derived) lactase gene showed the same expression pattern as the mutant responsible for lactase persistence in Europeans. This suggested it also conferred lactate persistence. Neanderthals in our genome About 7 million years ago, the evolutionary line leading to the contemporary Homo sapiens diverged from the one leading to our closest living cousins, the chimpanzees and bonobos. About 800,000 years ago, our line split once more: one population broke away and migrated to Eurasia, adapting to cold climes and eventually becoming the Neanderthals. The other stayed put in Africa and, by about 200,000 years ago, evolved into modern humans. Modern humans migrated out of Africa into Eurasia 120,000 to 80,000 years ago, and came into contact with their Neanderthal cousins there. DNA evidence from skeletal remains dating to after the contact showed the two occasionally interbred as well. As a result, today, about 1-4% of the genome of individuals with Eurasian ancestry — i.e. Europeans, East Asians, Indians, Native Americans, and Oceanians — represents Neanderthal-derived DNA sequences. The lactase gene of East Asians was one such segment. On the other hand, those of African descent have close to 0% Neanderthal-derived sequences. About 30,000 years ago the Neanderthals went extinct for reasons that are still not clear. Bones to pick Experts can distinguish Neanderthal skeletal remains from those of modern humans by the shape of the skull, inner ear bones, and pelvis width. Neanderthal bones have yielded DNA, which scientists have sequenced and compared with that of H. sapiens. Two random humans share about 99.9% of their DNA sequence whereas humans and Neanderthals shared only about 99.7%. Thus, there are about 9.6 million points of difference between Neanderthal and human DNA sequences, in terms of the bases the DNA is made of. Based on these differences, if a DNA sequence is sufficiently long, one can tell whether it is from humans or Neanderthals. The Allen Ancient DNA Resource (AADR) is a curated database of more than 10,000 genome sequences from the skeletal remains of ancient individuals who lived up to 20,000 years ago. The researchers who put this resource together have also identified, on every genome, more than a million sites where the DNA has been known to exhibit a different ordering of bases than 'normal'. About 67% of the ancient DNA sequences in AADR are from remains recovered in Europe and Russia, some 8% each are from East Asia and the Near East, about 7% are from the Americas, about 5% are from South and Central Asia, about 3% from Africa, and about 2% from Oceania. A story upended The researchers behind the new study searched AADR and found one modern human who lived around 14,000 years ago in the Amur area of China. This individual carried the Neanderthal-derived lactase gene. The gene occurred in roughly 10% of those humans who lived 8,000 to 3,000 years ago, and in about 20% of those who lived about 3,000 to 1,000 years ago. Its current frequency among East Asians is 28.9%. Thus, the AADR data also supported the inference made from the population genetic analyses: that the lactase gene had already experienced selection and had reached a (relatively) high frequency among East Asians long before they began to domesticate animals. Thus either the selection in East Asians, unlike that in Africans and North Europeans, was for reasons other than lactase persistence, or in all three geographies the selection was similarly not for lactase persistence. Either way in the light of these findings the classic story of gene–culture coevolution has become more complicated and hence, as the researchers note, more interesting. D.P. Kasbekar is a retired scientist.
