Denisova Cave

Denisova Cave is an archaeological site in the Altai Mountains of Siberia. Fossils found there yielded DNA identifying Denisovans, an archaic human population previously unknown to science.

Denisovan: An archaic human population first identified through DNA extracted from a finger bone found in Denisova Cave. The cave became famous because its remains revealed this previously unknown population.
Ancient DNA: Genetic material recovered from ancient biological remains, often damaged and chemically altered over time. DNA preservation in cave fossils enabled the identification of Denisovans.
Altai Mountains: A mountain system in Central and East Asia where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan meet. Denisova Cave lies in the Russian Altai, a region rich in archaeological sites.
Neanderthal: An extinct Eurasian human population closely related to modern humans, known from fossils and ancient genomes. Neanderthals shared the cave with Denisovans and contributed ancestry to Denisova 11.
Denisova 3: A small finger-bone fragment from Denisova Cave whose DNA established the Denisovan population. Its genome provided the first genetic identification of Denisovans.
Mitochondrial DNA: DNA in cell mitochondria that is usually inherited through the maternal line. Early genetic analyses of cave fossils used mitochondrial sequences to distinguish populations.
Anui River: A river in the Altai region of southwestern Siberia that flows past Denisova Cave. The cave occupies a limestone outcrop above this river valley.
Human genetic admixture: The mixing of genetic material between populations through reproduction. Cave genomes show that Denisovans interbred with Neanderthals and other human populations.
Denisova 11: A bone fragment from Denisova Cave belonging to a daughter of a Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father. This fossil documents contact between two archaic populations at the site.
Paleogenomics: The study of ancient genomes to reconstruct the history and biology of past populations. Genome-wide analysis transformed cave finds into evidence of archaic human relationships.

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