The Nature outlet reported on Wednesday, that the partial jawbone was found in 1980 but almost forty years passed before the scientists were able to confirm that it belonged to a Denisovan.
The outlet recalled that the find was also the first physical remnant of Denisovans larger than a single tooth or bone.
Denisovan mandible discovered in the Tibetan plateau at the Xiahe site! Identified using proteomics, due to no DNA surviving. First Denisovan found outside of Denisova itself. Estimated age 160,000 years old. Similar age to Denisova 2. https://t.co/bbsSg1U2rG pic.twitter.com/S5MstyXUar
— Tom Higham (@tommyhigham) 1 мая 2019 г.
READ MORE: Earth's First Artists Were Neanderthals
The publication recalled that the Denisovan genome was believed to have contributed to the adaptation of today’s Tibetans and the Sherpa people to living at a high altitude with low oxygen levels.
Fossils of Denisovans were first found in the Altai mountains in 2010.
