Ancient proteins identify various Denisovan remains from Southwest China

Abstract

More than a decade of multidisciplinary research has identified a collection of cranial, facial and dental remains of Denisovans from across Asia, providing insight into their cranial capacity, appearance, diet and evolutionary history. However, our understanding of their spatiotemporal dispersal and morphological phenotype is limited by a conspicuous distribution gap in Southwest China and the scarcity of postcranial remains, in particular, the absence of long bones with diagnostic characteristics. To identify further hominin long bones, we morphologically screened more than 60,000 bone fragments from Bianfu Cave in Southwest China, of which 76 were selected for zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry and 17 for proteomic sequencing analysis. These analyses identified three hominin fossils, comprising two parietal bone fragments and one proximal radial fragment, from layers dated to approximately 167–134 thousand years ago1. Subsequent proteomic analysis confirmed the taxonomic affiliation of these newly identified hominin bones, as well as that of two hominin teeth discovered during the excavation, as Denisovan. These findings establish Bianfu Cave as a Denisovan locality yielding the most abundant remains of this hominin group outside Denisova Cave in Siberia. The results also fill a critical geographic gap in the documented distribution of Denisovans and refine our understanding of their evolutionary history. Furthermore, this study provides direct information on the radial morphology of Denisovans, providing insight into their postcranial phenotype. Identification and proteomic analysis of bone fragments and teeth from an excavation in Southwest China provide insight into the evolution and phenotype of Denisovans and fill a geographical gap in their documented distribution.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Nature, 2026 · DOI ↗