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A mysterious human jaw get wind off the coast of Taiwan does n’t belong to our species or Neanderthals , but to another extinct relative , Denisovans .
In a new study , researcher used a cutting - border technique that study proteins to set which species the jawbone belong to , which had been a mystery since its discovery in the early 2000s off the west coast of Taiwan . Their approach showed that the case-by-case wasDenisovan , a " cousin-german " ofNeanderthalsand humans that roamed throughout Asia during thePleistocene epoch , and it opens the threshold to identification of unknown human fossils .
A photograph of the right side of the Penghu 1 lower jawbone that was found off the coast of Taiwan.
" The same proficiency can and is being used to study other hominin fossils to determine whether they too are Denisovans , Neanderthals or other hominin population , " study co - authorFrido Welker , a molecular anthropologist at the University of Copenhagen , told Live Science .
Welker and an external team of experts wanted to better sympathise the Penghu 1 jawbone , a specimen that was nett by a fisherman from the trading floor of the Penghu Channel , roughly 15.5 miles ( 25 kilometers ) off the west coast of Taiwan . In the decade sincePenghu 1 was documented , paleoanthropologists have disagree on whether the rich jaw with large teeth came from aHomo erectus , an archaicHomo sapiens , or a Denisovan .
Denisovans are nonextant human congeneric who dwell at the same metre as Neanderthals andHomo sapiens . But unlike Neanderthals , whose bones have been find throughout Europe and western Asia for more than a century , Denisovans are mostly known from DNA , since only ahandful of fossilshave ever been found , most of which come from Denisova Cave in Siberia . Without a large collection of fossils , it is difficult for expert to identify unexampled Denisovan skeletons and to figure out where they live and how they ’re related to humans .
Another view of the jawbone.
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Using the relatively novel proficiency ofpaleoproteomics , or the depth psychology of ancient protein , the research team showed that Penghu 1 was manlike and that his particular suite of aminic pane and protein was most similar to Denisovans . They published their findings April 10 in the journalScience .
" It was n’t possible to make literal meaning of this specimen even 8 or 9 years ago,“Sheela Athreya , a biological anthropologist at Texas A&M University who was not involved in the study , say Live Science . " This study confirm what we always extrapolate — that there has been hominin presence in the farthest extent of eastern Eurasia throughout the Pleistocene . "
An illustration of what the male Denisovan represented by the Penghu 1 jawbone might have looked like.
Dating conundrum
One limitation to the novel study , however , is that Penghu 1 ca n’t be date confidently using traditional methods such ascarbon-14 or atomic number 92 datingbecause the specimen was waterlogged for so long , and deoxyribonucleic acid descent attempts also run out .
Animal castanets found with the jowl suggest two age ranges , Welker pronounce — either 10,000 to 70,000 years ago or 130,000 to 190,000 yr ago . " If the specimen accrue into the untried age kitchen range , it could potentially be the youngest Denisovan found to escort , " he bring . presently , theyoungest Denisovan fossilis 40,000 old age sometime and was found on the Tibetan Plateau .
But even with the uncertainty in exact dates , the identification of Penghu 1 as a Denisovan express that these radical were widely disseminate throughout Asia , from frosty region like Siberia to fond and humid areas like Taiwan .
A map showing the distribution of Denisovan fossils, along with two views of the Penghu 1 fossil jawbone. The map shows what the coastline looked like when sea levels were at their lowest.
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" It is now clear that two contrast hominin groups – pocket-size - toothed Neanderthals with marvelous but willowy mandibula and large - toothed Denisovans with low but full-bodied mandible , " the researchers wrote in the study , " coexist during the tardy Middle to early Late Pleistocene of Eurasia . "
This determination shine a light on the multifariousness and evolution ofHomo , and the researchers ’ next tone will be to use paleoproteomics to identify more archaic bones from the genus .
" The meaningful result of this work is that we can do so much more with previously unprovenienced fossils found in channels and riverbeds in Asia , " Athreya said . " That ’s exciting ! "
Neanderthal quiz: How much do you know about our closest relatives?
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