This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Scientists have discovered various Denisovan remains in Southwest China dating to the late Middle Pleistocene, including the first Denisovan radius—one of two long bones in the forearm. Denisovans are a genetically identified archaic hominin group believed to have been widely distributed across Asia.
However, because of the limited number of fossil remains, especially postcranial bones—those below the skull—a distribution gap has long existed in Southwest China. Therefore, little is known about the physical traits that allowed Denisovans to adapt to different environments. In a new study, researchers employed a novel proteomic strategy to identify additional hominin bones from a Paleolithic site called Bianfu Cave in Southwest China's Yunnan province.
Paleoproteomic analysis confirmed five hominin remains as Denisovans, helping fill the distribution gap of Denisovans in Southwest China. According to the researchers, the discovery of the first Denisovan radius provides crucial insights into the Denisovan postcranial phenotype. The study, published in Nature, was conducted by a research team led by Professor Fu Qiaomei from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with multiple institutions.
ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) has recently become an important tool for large-scale screening of hominin fossils because of its advantages of micro-invasive sampling, methodological simplicity, rapid identification and low cost. However, the recovery rate of hominin fossils has been extremely low—only 0.1% at sites such as Denisova Cave and Baishiya Karst Cave. Given that Bianfu Cave yielded more than 60,000 bone fragments, conducting ZooMS analysis on all specimens would be both costly and inefficient.
To overcome this challenge, the researchers developed a novel "morphological pre-screening + ZooMS identification" strategy. This combined approach significantly improved screening efficiency and provided a replicable methodological framework for discovering hominin remains at similar Paleolithic sites with abundant bone fragments. Through morphological pre-screening, the researchers selected 22 potential hominin remains from the large assemblage of bone fragments.
Subsequent ZooMS analysis confirmed that two parietal bone fragments (BFD767 and BFD769) and one proximal radial fragment (BFD771) were derived from hominins. Among the three newly identified hominin specimens, BFD767 and BFD771 originated from Layer 7, which also contained four hominin teeth. This layer was dated to approximately 148,000–134,000 years ago.
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