A chunk of a Denisovan skull has been identified for the first time—a dramatic contribution to the handful of known samples from one of the most obscure branches of the hominin family tree.
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Wow. Very important milestone. Did you see this yet @sueD and @AJroberts? I think it will look like a Neanderthal.
I bet it looks “human”.
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Yes, this looks interesting. Will wait to see what the description paper says. I hope it will contribute to a better understanding of Denisovans!
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Very nice. Citation? Link?
Sorry, you’re referring to the small fragment found at the Denisova cave rather than the Chinese find. I hope that the fragment will be informative and will lead to others being discovered.
Sorry, Josh, confused between the two recent finds attributed to Denisovans - in the case of the Chinese skull fragments, there is speculation that they’re Denisovan, but no DNA confirmation; in the case of the Denisovan skull fragment, there’s DNA confirmation but no real way to compare the fragment to other skulls (like the Chinese ones) because it’s too small. We’ll only get the full story at the AAPAs in Cleveland (I can’t attend this year, but I suspect that the presentation will be well attended and that there’ll be a news flash then). I hope that they’ll publish quickly. The other fragments from China were published: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/ancient-skulls-may-belong-elusive-humans-called-denisovans
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