Ancient proteins identify various Denisovan remains from Southwest China.

Proteomic analysis of over 60,000 bones from Bianfu Cave in Southwest China identified three Denisovan fossils, including long bones, filling a key geographic and morphological gap.

• Why it matters: Understanding the dispersal and physical traits of Denisovans is limited by scarce postcranial remains outside Siberia, hindering insights into their evolution and adaptation across Asia.
• What they did: Researchers screened bone fragments using morphological methods, followed by zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry and proteomic sequencing on 76 and 17 samples, respectively, to identify hominin fossils.
• The result: The study confirmed the fossils as Denisovan, establishing Bianfu Cave as a significant site outside Siberia and providing new data on their postcranial anatomy, especially radial morphology, enhancing knowledge of their distribution and phenotype.