#biology #genetics #DenisovaCave #siberia #denisovans
Ancient DNA Analysis Sheds New Light on Occupational History of Denisova Cave
In a new study published this week in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers analyzed DNA from more than 700 sediment samples that were collected from the Pleistocene layers of Denisova Cave in Siberia and detected ancient hominin and mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in 685 and 175 samples, respectively; the earliest evidence for hominin mtDNA is of Denisovans, and is associated with the stone tools that were deposited approximately 250,000 to 170,000 years ago; Neanderthal mtDNA first appears towards the end of this period; the authors also detected a turnover in the mtDNA of Denisovans that coincides with changes in the composition of faunal mtDNA, and evidence that Denisovans and Neanderthals occupied the site repeatedly — possibly until, or after, the onset of the Initial Upper Paleolithic at least 45,000 years ago, when modern human mtDNA is first recorded in the sediments.
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/denisova-cave-occupational-history-09795.html
