Illustration of a Denisovan male from ancient Taiwan
Cheng-Han Sun
A fossil found by fishers in Taiwan has been identified as a jawbone from the mysterious Denisovan group of ancient humans.
Denisovans were first described in 2010 from a fossil fingerbone found in Denisova cave in the Altai mountains, Russia. Although few fossils have been found, traces of their DNA still exist in some modern humans, indicating they were widespread in East Asia.
The newly identified fossil mandible was recovered from the Penghu Channel by commercial fishers while…
Article amended on 14 April 2025
We amended Kira Westaway’s comments on the dating of the fossil.
