The ancient human species first recognized from remains found in Denisova Cave in 2008 was the Denisovans. A Russian archaeological team discovered a small finger bone belonging to a juvenile female in the cave in Siberia’s Altai Mountains.
The specimen was initially nicknamed “X-woman.” Its mitochondrial DNA showed that it came from a previously unknown hominin lineage, distinct from both modern humans and Neanderthals. Nuclear-DNA analysis later confirmed that the Denisovans were an ancient human group related to Neanderthals, rather than a previously known population of Homo sapiens.
The discovery became especially important because the Denisovans were identified largely through genetics. The original finger bone was formally reported in 2010, meaning the physical discovery occurred in 2008 but the species’ significance became clear two years later. Additional teeth and bone fragments from Denisova Cave have since expanded scientists’ understanding of the group.
Denisovan DNA survives in some living populations, particularly in people from Melanesia and parts of Southeast Asia. This shows that Denisovans interbred with ancestors of modern humans. They were not Cro-Magnons, Homo erectus, or Neanderthals, although they were evolutionarily related to Neanderthals.