Author
Listed:
- Katerina Douka
(Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
University of Oxford)
- Viviane Slon
(Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)
- Zenobia Jacobs
(Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong)
- Christopher Bronk Ramsey
(University of Oxford)
- Michael V. Shunkov
(Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch
Novosibirsk State University)
- Anatoly P. Derevianko
(Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch
Altai State University)
- Fabrizio Mafessoni
(Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)
- Maxim B. Kozlikin
(Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch)
- Bo Li
(Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong)
- Rainer Grün
(Griffith University)
- Daniel Comeskey
(University of Oxford)
- Thibaut Devièse
(University of Oxford)
- Samantha Brown
(Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History)
- Bence Viola
(University of Toronto, Toronto)
- Leslie Kinsley
(The Australian National University)
- Michael Buckley
(University of Manchester)
- Matthias Meyer
(Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)
- Richard G. Roberts
(Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong)
- Svante Pääbo
(Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)
- Janet Kelso
(Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)
- Tom Higham
(University of Oxford)
Abstract
Denisova Cave in the Siberian Altai (Russia) is a key site for understanding the complex relationships between hominin groups that inhabited Eurasia in the Middle and Late Pleistocene epoch. DNA sequenced from human remains found at this site has revealed the presence of a hitherto unknown hominin group, the Denisovans1,2, and high-coverage genomes from both Neanderthal and Denisovan fossils provide evidence for admixture between these two populations3. Determining the age of these fossils is important if we are to understand the nature of hominin interaction, and aspects of their cultural and subsistence adaptations. Here we present 50 radiocarbon determinations from the late Middle and Upper Palaeolithic layers of the site. We also report three direct dates for hominin fragments and obtain a mitochondrial DNA sequence for one of them. We apply a Bayesian age modelling approach that combines chronometric (radiocarbon, uranium series and optical ages), stratigraphic and genetic data to calculate probabilistically the age of the human fossils at the site. Our modelled estimate for the age of the oldest Denisovan fossil suggests that this group was present at the site as early as 195,000 years ago (at 95.4% probability). All Neanderthal fossils—as well as Denisova 11, the daughter of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan4—date to between 80,000 and 140,000 years ago. The youngest Denisovan dates to 52,000–76,000 years ago. Direct radiocarbon dating of Upper Palaeolithic tooth pendants and bone points yielded the earliest evidence for the production of these artefacts in northern Eurasia, between 43,000 and 49,000 calibrated years before present (taken as ad 1950). On the basis of current archaeological evidence, it may be assumed that these artefacts are associated with the Denisovan population. It is not currently possible to determine whether anatomically modern humans were involved in their production, as modern-human fossil and genetic evidence of such antiquity has not yet been identified in the Altai region.
Suggested Citation
Katerina Douka & Viviane Slon & Zenobia Jacobs & Christopher Bronk Ramsey & Michael V. Shunkov & Anatoly P. Derevianko & Fabrizio Mafessoni & Maxim B. Kozlikin & Bo Li & Rainer Grün & Daniel Comeskey , 2019.
"Age estimates for hominin fossils and the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic at Denisova Cave,"
Nature, Nature, vol. 565(7741), pages 640-644, January.
Handle:
RePEc:nat:nature:v:565:y:2019:i:7741:d:10.1038_s41586-018-0870-z
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0870-z
Download full text from publisher
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.
Corrections
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:565:y:2019:i:7741:d:10.1038_s41586-018-0870-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through
the various RePEc services.