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Israeli scientists have been able to show the skeletal and facial structure of a group of extinct and little-known humans, despite an almost total lack of bone.
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem collaborated with their counterparts at Stanford University in the United States to offer new information about the Denisovans, who traveled the land with the Neanderthals and the ancestors of modern man until about 50,000 years ago.
Archaeologists only discovered the Denisovans in 2008, and only three teeth and Denisovan's little finger bone had been discovered by the time the team had used DNA analysis to determine the appearance of this gene. human group.
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Shortly after the presentation of their scientific article, which followed three years of studies on the chemical modifications of Denisovan's DNA, a fortuitous discovery revealed that they were right.
"One of the most exciting moments was spent a few weeks after sending our paper to a reading committee," said Professor Liran Carmel. "Scientists have discovered a maxillary Denisovan! We compared it to our forecasts and found that it fit perfectly. Without even planning this, we received independent confirmation of our ability to reconstruct complete anatomical profiles with the aid of DNA extracted from a single finger. "
Denisovans teen sketh (Credit: Maayan Harel)
Little is known about the Denisovans, who lived in Siberia and East Asia, but their DNA is thought to help present Tibetans live at high altitudes. Studies have shown that about 6% of current Australians and Melanesians carry Denisovan's DNA.
The US-Israeli team identified 56 anatomical features of Denisovan in which they differ from modern humans and / or Neanderthals, including 34 in the skull, and published their findings in the journal Cell.
To obtain the results, the team mapped and compared the minimal chemical changes in the genes in Denisovans, Neanderthals and chimpanzees. They then determined what these differences could mean for anatomical features, based on what is known about human disorders in which these same genes lose their function.
Through their pain-based genetic research work, researchers now know that the Denisovans had a skull much wider than modern humans, with a sloping forehead, a long face, large dental arches, no chin or big pool.
Scientists now hope this discovery will help them better understand the Denisovian way of life and how they survived the extreme cold of Siberia.
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