Neanderthals and Denisovans are among our closest extinct human relatives, but there is still a lot we don’t know about this ancient relative of ours, but new research may help us take the next step. Today, research teams based primarily in China published two papers in Nature detailing the discovery and analysis of Denisovan remains from Bianfu Cave, Yunnan, in southwestern China. Taken together, the results shed long-awaited light on the geographic distribution of Denisovans, as well as their biology, diet, and social practices. The discovery also reinforces previous studies that found genetic connections between modern humans and Denisovans in Southeast Asia. Importantly, the site demonstrates one of the longest and most consistent records of Denisovan occupation, greatly enhancing our understanding of our long-lost relatives. Researchers excavating the site. Credit: Bo Li/University of Wollongong “Both papers are very welcome because they provide new and important information about the Denisovans, not only about new fossils and evolutionary anatomy, but also about their use and production of stone tools and their hunting practices,” Antonio Rosas, a paleoanthropologist at Spain’s National Museum of Natural Sciences, told Gizmodo. Rosas did not participate in any of the studies. The Elusive Cousin Again, compared to Neanderthals, Denisovans are a relatively recent addition to the lineage of human ancestors. According to a blog from the UK’s Natural History Museum (NHM), the first fossil remains recognized as Denisovan (a small hand bone and some teeth) were discovered in 2008 in Russia’s Denisova Cave. The DNA results came back two years later, indicating that these fossils belonged to a “completely unknown species of ancient human,” according to the NHM blog. These findings were nothing short of revolutionary. Previous fossil reviews repainted them as potentially Denisovan. Then there were the more recent discoveries, notably a skull from Harbin, China, in 2021, which further solidified the idea that Denisovans, as a species, established populations genetically distinct from Neanderthals in modern-day Asia. Incredulous encounters For the latest studies, the team, including paleogeneticist Qiamei Fu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, studied more than 60,000 bone fragments in Bianfu Cave. In a written statement to the media, Fu explained that the excursion began as a local ecological restoration project in 2019, in which four hominid teeth, an arm bone and two skull fragments were found. Wooden tools discovered at the site. Credit: Bo Li/University of Wollongong The evidence strongly suggests a long-term occupation of the cave by hominids. However, it was only after proteomic sequencing (studying protein molecules) and data analysis that the team began to suspect they were looking at Denisovan remains, Fu said. The proteomic analysis in particular revealed that the hominin fossils from Bianfu Cave had a strong statistical connection with those found in Denisova, he added. “Overall, I found the analyzes quite convincing,” Rosas told Gizmodo. “It supports and expands previous evidence on the geographic range of the Denisovans. It also significantly increases our knowledge of the anatomy and culture of this lineage.” Revisiting Denisova’s life The first article, on the proteomic analysis of Denisova’s remains, dated the fossils to between approximately 167,000 and 134,000 years ago. The second article, on the subsistence strategies of the Denisovans, adds that the collection of evidence of human occupation appears to date back to between 190,000 and 70,000 years ago. This included unmodified bone tools, stone artifacts, and traces of animals and pollen. The level of sophistication of these hunting tools resembled that of the Neanderthals, while the organic remains indicated that the Denisovans lived in a forest-like environment populated with conifers. Modified stone and bone artifacts found at the site. © Chen et al., 2026 “This site is important because it brings together fossils, technology, subsistence and environment in a long, stratified record,” Bo Li, a co-author of the study and an archaeologist at the University of Wollongong in Australia, said in a university statement. “It takes us beyond isolated discoveries and genetically inferred distributions, showing how Denisovans really adapted to their environment. It is evidence of how diverse the technology of ancient human populations in East Asia really was.” Bianfu Cave currently offers the clearest snapshot yet of the daily lives of the Denisovans, providing a picture of hunters, tool makers and forest dwellers, at least in this particular location. There is still much to learn about the Denisovans, but each new discovery brings them into focus.
