More than just Neanderthals...

The Denisovans are the closest extinct relatives of modern humans, alongside the Neanderthals. However, scientists only announced that Denisovans existed in 2010, so much still remains unknown about this species. However, in the past fifteen years, scientists have found Denisovan remains from sites in Siberia, China, Taiwan and Laos; and those fossils even match with genetic evidence of Denisovans found in modern humans living in Melanesia.

But how did scientists even find out about Denisovans? Well, in 2008 scientists found a sliver of a 30,000 to 50,000 year old finger bone in a cave, which they soon found out belonged to a different unknown human lineage to Neanderthals. The 2010 Nature Study that announced the discovery of the Denisovans explains that they are close relatives of Neanderthals, and a 2013 study stated that the Denisovans split from the ancestors of modern humans between about 550,000 and 765,000 years ago. 

However, what is particularly interesting is that the sliver of finger — belonging to a girl aged around thirteen (nicknamed "Denny") — was distinct enough to be classified as another species completely. The bone had small amounts of both Denisovan and Neanderthal DNA, suggesting that the two groups had mixed. This new discovery showed a fusion of lineages that scientists had been previously unaware of, and changed the way that we think about how the modern human originated. 

So who were the Denisovans? Were they as alike the Neanderthals as we might assume? Due to the recent discovery of Denisovan DNA, much is left undiscovered about these new genetic relatives. We can only hope that, in time, more light is shed on the Denisovans and our ancient heritage.