A male Denisovan mandible from Pleistocene Taiwan

2025/04/10 by Takumi Tsutaya, Rikai Sawafuji, Alberto J. Taurozzi +12 · 5 voices · 46 citations
Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Biology #Evolutionary biology #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies #Geography #Paleontology #Pleistocene #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Zoology

paper · doi:10.1126/science.ads3888

published in Science 388(6743), 176-180 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

openalex publication_date 2025/04/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Denisovans are an extinct hominin group defined by ancient genomes of Middle to Late Pleistocene fossils from southern Siberia. Although genomic evidence suggests their widespread distribution throughout eastern Asia and possibly Oceania, so far only a few fossils from the Altai and Tibet are confidently identified molecularly as Denisovan. We identified a hominin mandible (Penghu 1) from Taiwan (10,000 to 70,000 years ago or 130,000 to 190,000 years ago) as belonging to a male Denisovan by applying ancient protein analysis. We retrieved 4241 amino acid residues and identified two Denisovan-specific variants. The increased fossil sample of Denisovans demonstrates their wider distribution, including warm and humid regions, as well as their shared distinct robust dentognathic traits that markedly contrast with their sister group, Neanderthals.

Cited by

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• Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from dental calculus of the >146,000-year-old Harbin cranium
• An early East Asian lineage with unexpectedly low Denisovan ancestry
• Muinais-DNA: Avain menneisyyteen
• Sex assessment in a hominin upper second molar (RV’23-350) from the Ruidera (Spain) Middle Pleistocene paleoanthropological site: a proteome-based analysis of the amelogenin
• A glimpse into a vanished ecosystem: reconstructing diet and palaeoenvironment of Palaeoloxodon from the Pleistocene of Taiwan
• The proteome of the late Middle Pleistocene Harbin individual
• Cultural change between 40-50 ka in southern China : Implications for modern human dispersals in Eurasia
• Proteomic analysis of dental enamel from 20 Homo naledi individuals shows no male markers
• The role of Denisovan paleohabitats in shaping modern human genetic resistance to viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections
• Recent advances in methods to characterize archaic introgression in modern humans. [europepmc]
• The Japanese Archipelago sheltered cave lions, not tigers, during the Late Pleistocene. [europepmc]
• Assessing the Potential of Ancient Protein Sequences in the Study of Hominid Evolution. [europepmc]
• Ancient DNA and human physiology. [europepmc]
• [A Review of Archaeological Studies on Dento-maxillofacial Deformities]. [europepmc]
• A Selective History of Protein Sequencing and the Impact of Donald F. Hunt on Protein Sequencing by Tandem Mass Spectrometry. [europepmc]
• The effects of environmental stress on third molar agenesis in humans and its population differences. [europepmc]
• Refinement of Poultry Standing in Japan Based on Recent Anthropo-ornithological Perspectives. [europepmc]
• A library of avian proteins improves palaeoproteomic taxonomic identification and reveals widespread intraspecies variability. [europepmc]
• A glimpse into a vanished ecosystem: reconstructing diet and palaeoenvironment of Palaeoloxodon from the Pleistocene of Taiwan. [europepmc]
• Identification and removal of contamination in palaeoproteomic analysis of dental enamel. [europepmc]

Discussions

• Incredibly proud that our paper on the #palaeoproteomics analysis of the Penghu mandible, led by @tsutatsuta.bsky.social and in collaboration with Chun-Hsiang Chang, Enrico Cappellini and co, is out n [bsky, 145 points, 8 comments]
• Our paper on the #palaeoproteomic identification of a male Denisovan mandible from Taiwan is out in @science.org ! doi.org/10.1126/scie... [bsky, 60 points, 3 comments]
• 台湾から見つかった下顎骨に古代プロテオミクスを実施して、デニソワ人の男性に由来することを明らかにした私たちの研究が @science.org に掲載されました。 doi.org/10.1126/scie... [bsky, 8 points, 1 comments]
• (2) Publicação do estudo: Tsutaya et al. (2025). A male Denisovan mandible from Pleistocene Taiwan. Science, Vol. 388, Issue 6743, pp. 176-180. doi.org/10.1126/scie... [bsky, 2 points, 0 comments]
• La mandíbula denisovanada de Penghu, a 4000 km de la cueva Denisova A male Denisovan mandible from Pleistocene Taiwan [bsky, 2 points, 0 comments]

Related

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• Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from two Denisovan individuals