Denisovan DNA in Late Pleistocene sediments from Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau
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Publication Date
10-30-2020
Publication Title
Science
Volume Number
370
Issue Number
6516
Abstract
A late Middle Pleistocene mandible from Baishiya Karst Cave (BKC) on the Tibetan Plateau has been inferred to be from a Denisovan, an Asian hominin related to Neanderthals, on the basis of an amino acid substitution in its collagen. Here we describe the stratigraphy, chronology, and mitochondrial DNA extracted from the sediments in BKC. We recover Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from sediments deposited ~100 thousand and ~60 thousand years ago (ka) and possibly as recently as ~45 ka. The long-term occupation of BKC by Denisovans suggests that they may have adapted to life at high altitudes and may have contributed such adaptations to modern humans on the Tibetan Plateau.
Document Type
Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb6320
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Dongju; Xia, Huan; Chen, Fahu; and Li, Bo, "Denisovan DNA in Late Pleistocene sediments from Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau" (2020). KIP Articles. 6468.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/6468
