The discovery of Denisovan remains and associated artefacts in a cave in southwestern China offer new insights into how this group of ancient humans looked, evolved, and behaved, according to two papers published in Nature. The hominin fossils, dated to around 167,000–134,000 years ago, add to the small but growing collection of Denisovans from eastern Asia. Analysis of the artefacts suggests that the Denisovans in this region shared some similarities with Neanderthals, such as their use of simple bone tools.
Denisovans were a group of ancient humans that lived in Eurasia, first identified from remains found in Denisova Cave in Siberia, Russia. Only a small number of remains from elsewhere have been identified as Denisovans since the first discovery. This limited fossil record has hampered attempts to gain a full understanding of how this group looked and where they lived. Genomic data indicate the presence of Denisovan ancestry in present-day populations in Southeast Asia and Oceania, which suggests that Denisovans may have lived in southwestern China, but there has been scant fossil evidence to support this theory.
Qiaomei Fu and colleagues report the discovery of part of an arm bone, two skull fragments, and four teeth from Bianfu Cave, Yunnan, in southwestern China. The remains were among more than 60,000 bone fragments found in the cave, of which 7 were identified as hominin, and date to around 167,000–134,000 years ago. Proteomic analysis revealed that these hominin remains contained a distinct amino acid variant associated with Denisovans. The arm bone fragment shows some similarities with features seen in Neanderthals but is more closely aligned with that of modern humans in shape.
In a second paper, Fahu Chen and colleagues also analyse these bones as well as animal remains and associated archaeological material including over 1,300 stone artefacts. The associated artefacts cover a time period of around 190,000 years ago to around 70,000 years ago. Animal and pollen remains indicate that the environment the Denisovans lived in was forest-like and dominated by conifers. Evidence of unmodified bone tools and minimally processed tools were also found, which are similar technologies to those used by Neanderthals. The authors suggest that the inhabitants of Bianfu Cave practised specialized hunting of medium- to large-bodied prey.
Together, these findings provide insights into Denisovan biology, behaviour, and ecology in eastern Asia, and fill a gap in their documented distribution.
Article details
Ancient proteins identify various Denisovan remains from Southwest China
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10976-9
Corresponding Author:
Qiaomei Fu
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China
Email: [email protected]
Article details
Denisovans from southwestern China and their subsistence strategies
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10997-4
Corresponding Author:
Hao Li
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Email: [email protected]
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