Modern humans inherited part of their ancestry from multiple, genetically distinct Denisovan groups through interbreeding events. However, the history of contact with Denisovans remains unclear. By ...

Ancient humans crossing the Bering Strait into the Americas carried more than tools and determination—they also carried a genetic legacy from Denisovans, an extinct human relative. A new study reveals ...

In 2010, DNA analysis of a finger bone around 40,000 years old revealed that it came from a previously unknown group of ancient humans, dubbed the Denisovans after the cave in Siberia where the bone ...

For only the second time, researchers have obtained the full genome of a Denisovan, a group of ancient humans who lived in Asia. The DNA was extracted from a single 200,000-year-old tooth found in a ...

Human evolution’s biggest mystery, which emerged 15 years ago from a 60,000-year-old pinkie finger bone, finally started to unravel in 2025. Analysis of DNA extracted from the fossil electrified the ...

A fossil skull from China that made headlines last week may or may not be a million years old, but it’s probably closely related to Denisovans. The fossil skull, dubbed Yunxian 2, is one of three ...