Life Sciences Commons^™

Denisovan Dna In Late Pleistocene Sediments From Baishiya Karst Cave On The Tibetan Plateau, Dongju Zhang, Huan Xia, Fahu Chen, Bo Li, Viviane Slon, Ting Cheng, Ruowei Yang, Melinda A. Yang

Biology Faculty Publications

A late Middle Pleistocene mandible from Baishiya Karst Cave (BKC) on the Tibetan Plateau has been inferred to be from a Denisovan, an Asian hominin related to Neanderthals, on the basis of an amino acid substitution in its collagen. Here we describe the stratigraphy, chronology, and mitochondrial DNA extracted from the sediments in BKC. We recover Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from sediments deposited ~100 thousand and ~60 thousand years ago (ka) and possibly as recently as ~45 ka. The long-term occupation of BKC by Denisovans suggests that they may have adapted to life at high altitudes and may have contributed such …