THE DENISOVANS

=The Denisovans= [image:http://i.imgur.com/rmjTa71.png?1] In 2010 scientists discovered a tiny finger bone fragment in a siberian cave that dates to around '''41,000 years ago'''. Throughout history, the cave has also been occupied by neanderthals and modern humans, however analysis of mitochondrial DNA from the finger bone suggested this bone came from a species distinct from both Neanderthals and modern humans. This new species has been named the Denisovans after Denis, a Russian hermit who lived in the cave during the 18th century. Two teeth and a toe bone belonging to this species have since been discovered. [image:http://i.imgur.com/loqpEZT.png?1] Nuclear DNA suggests the Denisovans ranged from Western Europe to Southeast Asia and were most closely related to the Neanderthals. It appears as though a common ancestor of both the Denisovans and Neanderthals diverged from the modern human lineage around 800,000 years ago and that Neanderthals and the Denisovans diverged around 640,000 years ago, but that there was still significant interbreeding with local Neanderthal populations and another yet unknown human lineage. DNA evidence also suggests that there was some interbreeding with modern humans after their exodus from Africa. About 3% to 5% of the DNA of Melanesians and Aboriginal Australians may be derived from Denisovans. [image:http://i.imgur.com/cSQLvev.png?1]