Scientists Were Studying This Ancient DNA When They Discovered A Girl Whose Parents Were Two Different Species

They Were Named As Denisova

They named the species Denisova after the cave where the specimens were located, a fitting tribute to the researchers’ historic discovery. The only information that could be deduced from this human ancestor’s DNA was limited. Another little bone piece was discovered in 2012 during a follow-up investigation at the same Siberian site.

They Were Named As Denisova

Innumerable Animal Fossils

The unimpressive fragment was initially grouped among the innumerable animal fossils found in the cave. When Samantha Brown of the University of Oxford took a closer look at it years later, she discovered that it was not what it seemed to be. Analysis of proteins in this bone led Brown to the conclusion that it came from an ancient human.

Innumerable Animal Fossils