Denisovsky's man. The genome of the Denisov man

The nature of man, the origin of man is something that excites people from the most ancient times. There are many versions, theories. Scientists are researching, trying to find answers to all the questions. After reading the article, you will learn about another subspecies of ancient extinct people.

Denisov's man, or denisovets, presumably existed in the Solononshensky district of the Altai Territory near the Denisova cave. Evidence for this was found in different periods and in different layers of the cave.

At the moment, there are only five fragments, which allow talking about the Denisov man. However, these tracks are still not enough to restore its appearance completely. Nevertheless, the fragments found are sufficient to assert that the remains of this man are different from the remains of Homo Sapiens, as well as from the remains of the Neanderthal man.

Denisova Cave

This cave is the most popular archaeological reminder, which Altai can boast of. Denisovsky lived here, 250 kilometers from the city of Biysk. The cave is quite large, with an area of 270 m².

It is located near the settlements, belongs to the horizontal type, which attracts a large number of tourists. However, there are also archaeologists here, whose hard work still led to the result.

According to the results of the research, in the lower layers of the cave, whose age is about 120 thousand years, stone tools and ornaments were found, as well as traces of an ancient man, whom they called Denisovsky.

Fragments of the remains of the Denisov man

During the existence of the Soviet state, three molars were found in size much larger than the teeth of a reasonable man. According to the examination, they belonged to a young male of a young age. A fragment of the phalanx of the finger was also found, an analysis of this element has been carried out so far.

In a later period, as early as 2008, another element was found - the bone of the baby's phalanx.

The genome of the Denisov man

The fragment found in the form of a phalanx of a finger of a Denisian man was studied by a team of scientists from the Leipzig Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology. The study showed that the mitochondrial DNA of the Denisovian person differs from the mitochondrial DNA of a reasonable human being at 385 nucleotides. It is worth noting that the genome of the Neanderthal man differs from the Homo Sapiens genome by 202 nucleotides.

Denisov's man is closer to the Neanderthal man than to the intelligent man. It is also worth noting that his genes were found in melanesians, and this allows us to speak of a massive cross between humans at a time when the Melanesians left Africa and migrated to the southeast.

Descendants of the Denisov man

According to the conducted studies, the Denisovsky man separated as a subspecies about 400-800 thousand years ago. Today, a study of fragments found in Denisova cave allows finding its genes in many modern nations. For example, most of the similar elements are found in the inhabitants of the countries of South-East Asia and southern China, despite the fact that traces of these ancient people in Siberia have been found.

It was also found out that the named subspecies of extinct people, as well as the Neanderthal man, transferred the genes responsible for the immune system to the European population. Thanks to this find, it was also possible to create a computer model demonstrating the migration path of different types of ancestors of modern people and the places of their encounter with the Denisovs.

Scientists from Sweden believe that it is possible to find traces of the Denisovian person by comparing the DNAs found with the DNA of modern people.

After the comparison, information was obtained both about the similarity of the denisovka with the modern person, and about the coincidences found in the Neanderthal and Denisov. It was also possible to find out that the genes of the Denisian man are contained in the genotypes of people belonging to the oceanic and non-African populations.

The work of Harvard Medical School

According to the research of the Harvard Medical School, the Denisovites are much farther from modern people than the Neanderthals, although initially they were considered cousins. It was believed that Neanderthals and Denisovians are equally different from the rational man. However, Harvard scientist David Reich managed to refute this.

Nevertheless, the scientist himself says that such a difference can also be explained by the fact that the Denisovs crossed with different kinds of ancient people.

The point of view of the German scientist Johannes Krauze

German geneticist Johannes Krause of the University of Tubingen believes that it is by no means impossible to ignore the fragments found. Together with his colleagues, the scientist studies the genome of the Denisovian man for the presence of traces of interbreeding. The fact is that the found teeth of the denisovka are very large for this kind of ancient man. It seems that his immediate ancestor was a primitive look.

According to the professor, it is quite possible to explain the oddity with teeth that the Denisovs were crossing with archaic versions of people. Moreover, according to the professor, most likely, it was already known to us, as most of them were not investigated at the gene level.

What do the London scientists say?

London researcher Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in the UK believes that the Heidelberg man, settling in Europe and Western Asia, could very well meet with the Denisov man, which led to a massive cross. Also, an erect man can be an excellent option, as it was common in many areas and could meet with the Denisovs.

Of course, it is possible to solve these disputes with the help of the usual DNA analysis of all these species, but this can not be done, since they simply did not survive. Most hominins lived in hot environments, and therefore the genome in their remains is not preserved, in contrast to the remains of Neanderthals and Denisians, who were found mainly in more severe and cold conditions.

The role of crossing in human nature

To date, many species and subspecies of ancient people are already known, which are our ancestors. In this case, it is not necessary to deny the fact that after the human ancestors left Africa, they mated with many other species. It is likely that in the future will be installed some more interesting genomes.

At the moment, it is already known that mass crossings have occurred continuously, including with unsettled hominins. According to many scientists, interest in other species arose about 700 thousand years ago.

Based on the conducted studies, it can be concluded that at some time the human evolution was divided into several lines, one of which subsequently led to the Denisov man, and the other came from the older ancestors of the rational and Neanderthal man. Also, scientists established that the Neanderthals, Denis and other species of Homo Sapiens lived for a while in the Altai and crossed among themselves. In addition, the crossing took place with other species that were encountered by Denisov in different periods of time and in different territories.

It is a pity that the DNA of other species of ancient people did not survive, otherwise this connection could be traced more clearly. However, modern human sciences do not stand still, and, perhaps, soon we will learn something new about our origin.