Denisova Cave is in which mountain range?

Denisova Cave is in the Altai Mountains, specifically in the Bashelaksky Range of the Altai region of southern Siberia. The cave lies in Russia’s Altai Krai near the Anuy River.

The site became famous because it preserved evidence of several human groups, including Neanderthals, modern humans, and the Denisovans. In 2008, researchers found a finger-bone fragment from a juvenile female. DNA analysis showed that it belonged to a previously unknown archaic human population, later called Denisovans after the cave.

Denisova Cave is also an important archaeological site. Its sediments contain stone tools, animal remains, pollen, and other evidence spanning multiple periods of occupation. The cave itself formed in limestone and includes a main gallery along with eastern and southern side galleries.

A common mix-up is confusing the Altai Mountains with the nearby Sayan Mountains. Both are major mountain systems of southern Siberia, but Denisova Cave is specifically associated with the Altai range. The cave’s name comes from Denis, an eighteenth-century Old Believer hermit said to have lived there.