Bones uncovered from the Denisova cave in Siberia, Russia prove that two ancient species produced a “hybrid” offspring, according to an article published in Nature this month. The report noted that the bones were of a girl referred to as "Denisova 11" by researchers who determined she was at least 13 years old. The girl reportedly had a Denisovan father and Neanderthal mother, two species of hominins (a classification group that evolved into modern humans). Before these remains were discovered, Denisovans and Neanderthals were not known to have reproduced together.
To better understand how the two groups have interacted throughout history, some background is key. Homo sapiens, or modern humans, may have actually existed alongside Neanderthals and Denisovans “for tens of thousands of years” earlier than we previously expected, professor Israel Hershkovitz of Tel Aviv University told The Guardian. It was previously believed that Neanderthals were simply the closest relatives to homo sapiens and traces of Denisovans showed up in the homo sapien gene pool because they had interbred with early humans. We didn’t even know about the Denisovan lineage until 2010, when scientists analyzed DNA from a pinky bone fragment that was discovered in the Denisova cave (the same cave where Denisova 11 was found).
By understanding more of how previous species bred with one another, we can better understand the evolution of human beings as a whole, so the Denisova 11 remains are an important find. It’s previously been found by scientists that Neanderthals and Denisovans bred separately with homo sapiens, which provides a more thorough explanation to how Denisovans are related to modern humans.
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