Denisovans are the extinct hominin group first identified from DNA extracted from a finger bone found in Siberia.
The bone, known as Denisova 3 or the “X Woman” specimen, was excavated in 2008 from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. Researchers recovered mitochondrial DNA from the juvenile finger phalanx and announced in 2010 that it represented a previously unknown archaic human lineage, genetically distinct from both modern humans and Neanderthals.
Nuclear DNA later showed that Denisovans were a close sister group to Neanderthals. Evidence from modern populations indicates that Denisovan ancestry survives most strongly in Melanesia, where some groups carry roughly 4–6% Denisovan-derived DNA. Additional Denisovan remains have since been identified, including teeth from Denisova Cave and a mandible from the Tibetan Plateau.
A remarkable related discovery is Denisova 11, a teenager whose genome shows a Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father. Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis are older hominin groups, but neither is the canonical answer to this DNA-based discovery question.