An historic jawbone found in Taiwan belonged to an enigmatic group of early human ancestors known as Denisovans, scientists reported Thursday.

Comparatively little is understood about Denisovans, an extinct group of human cousins that interacted with Neanderthals and our personal species, Homo sapiens.

“ Denisovan fossils are very scarce,” with only some confirmed finds in East Asia, stated examine co-author Takumi Tsutaya on the Graduate College for Superior Research in Japan.

To date, the one recognized Denisovan fossils embrace partial jawbones, just a few tooth and a part of a finger bone present in caves in Siberia and Tibet. Some scientists imagine fossils present in a collapse Laos may additionally belong to Denisovans.

The possible identification of the jawbone from Taiwan as Denisovan expands the area the place scientists know these historic individuals as soon as lived, stated Tsutaya.

The partial jawbone was first recovered when a fishing operation dredged the seafloor within the Penghu Channel close to the Taiwan Strait. After it was offered to an vintage store, a collector noticed it and bought it in 2008, then later donated it to Taiwan’s Nationwide Museum of Pure Science.

Based mostly on the composition of marine invertebrates discovered hooked up to it, the fossil was dated to the Pleistocene period. However precisely which species of early human ancestor it belonged to remained a thriller.

The situation of the fossil made it unimaginable to check historic DNA. However not too long ago, scientists in Taiwan, Japan and Denmark have been in a position to extract some protein sequences from the unfinished jawbone.

An evaluation confirmed some protein sequences resembled these contained within the genome of a Denisovan fossil recovered in Siberia. The findings have been revealed within the journal Science.

Whereas the brand new analysis is promising, Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian Establishment’s Human Origins Mission, stated he want to see additional information earlier than confirming the Taiwan fossil as Denisovan.

Potts, who was not concerned within the new analysis, praised the examine for “a unbelievable job of recovering some proteins.” However he added, such a small sliver of fabric could not give a full image.

At one time, not less than three human ancestor teams — Denisovans, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens — coexisted in Eurasia and generally interbred, researchers say.

“We are able to id Neanderthal components and Denisovan components” within the DNA of some individuals alive right now, stated Tsutaya.

The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives help from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Academic Media Group and the Robert Wooden Johnson Basis. The AP is solely liable for all content material.