University of Ferrara Study in Nature: Chinese Cave Reveals 100,000 Years of Denisovan Life

A cave in China's Yunnan province has revealed over 100,000 years of Denisovan history, an archaic human population. The study, published in the journal 'Nature,' is coordinated by Chinese researchers with contributions from the University of Ferrara.

In Bianfu Cave, discovered in 2019, seven human remains (teeth and bones) attributed to the Denisovans were found, dating between 167,000 and 134,000 years ago. The excavations also unearthed 1,366 stone artifacts, bone tools, and over 64,000 animal remains, documenting hunting strategies and survival technologies.

The archaeological sequence indicates human presence between 195,000-175,000 and 72,000-63,000 years ago. The observed stability in technologies suggests that the same Denisovan groups occupied the site for millennia, making it the longest sequence attributed to this species in Southeast Asia.

The Denisovans are an ancient human population, distinct from both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, first identified in 2010 through DNA analysis extracted from a bone fragment found in Denisova Cave, Siberia. Prior to this discovery, they were known almost exclusively through their genetic legacy, with scarce fossil evidence.

Bianfu Cave, accidentally discovered in 2019 during environmental restoration work in a mining area, changed this situation. Its importance lies in the rare direct association between fossil human remains, artifacts, and animal bones within the same stratigraphic context. This allows, for the first time, a concrete link to be made between a specific material culture and this species.

The international research, involving the University of Ferrara for its expertise in lithic technology studies, shows how the Denisovans hunted large animals (deer, bovids, rhinoceroses), worked stone and bone, and stably occupied high-altitude environments (2,370 meters) for tens of thousands of years, adapting to the Tibetan plateau environment.