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A fossil finger of Denisovan contains a surprising feature that illuminates the development of our ancestors.
The paleogeneticist E. Andrew Bennett of Paris Diderot University and his colleagues claim to have identified the remainder of a finger, coming from the hand of a teenage Denisovan, discovered a decade ago.
The Denisovans are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans that roamed in regions including modern Russia and China.
According to the researchers, the finger actually has a form closer to that of modern humans (Homo sapiens) than that of Neanderthals, which is surprising given the kinship link that exists between Denisovans and Neanderthals.
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Front and back views of Denisovan finger fragment virtually rebuilt. (E. A. Bennett et al., 2019 / Science Advances)
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After the discovery of the finger by Russian scientists in 2008 in Denisova's cave, they cut the specimen in half and sent the pieces to various DNA research companies, reports Science News.
Researchers say that in comparison to Neanderthal and H. sapiens species, fossil finger dimensions were within the range of measures taken for ancient and modern humans – not for Neanderthals.
The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
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