From Newsgroup: sci.anthropology.paleo



https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.20.683404v1
A high-coverage genome from a 200,000-year-old Denisovan

Abstract
Denisovans, an extinct sister group of
Neandertals who lived in Eastern Eurasia
during the Middle and Late Pleistocene, are
known only from a handful of skeletal
remains and limited genetic data, including
the high-coverage genome of a woman who
lived re+65,000 years ago. Here, we present a
second high-quality Denisovan genome,
reconstructed from a molar found at Denisova
Cave. It belonged to a man who lived re+200,000
years ago in a small Denisovan group. This
group mixed with early Neandertals and was
then replaced by Denisovans who had mixed
with later Neandertals. We show that in
addition Denisovans received gene flow from
hominins that diverged before the split of
the ancestors of Denisovans and modern humans.
The two Denisovan genomes allow us to
disentangle Denisovan ancestry in present-day
humans revealing contributions from at least
three distinct Denisovan groups. In
particular, Oceanians and South Asians
independently inherited DNA from a deeply
diverged Denisovan population which was likely
isolated in South Asia. This supports an early
migration of the ancestors of Oceanians through
South Asia followed by the later arrival of the
ancestors of present-day South Asians. East
Asians do not share this Denisovan component
in their genomes, suggesting that their
ancestors arrived independently, perhaps by a
northerly route. Finally, the two high-quality
Denisovan genomes allow us to refine the
catalogue of genetic changes that arose on the
Denisovan lineage, some of which were
contributed to present-day humans.



--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2