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Rare fossil human teeth discovered in Truong Son mountain range

A child tooth at least 131,000 years old, belonging to the archaic Denisovans, has been found in the Cobra cave in Laos.





Rare fossil teeth of Denisovans in the Truong Son mountain range.  Photo: Fabrice Demeter/Clément Zanolli

Rare fossil teeth of Denisovans in the Truong Son mountain range. Image: Fabrice Demeter/Clément Zanolli

Denisova is one of the closest relatives of modern humans. They diverged from the Neanderthals about 400,000 years ago to move east of Asia, while the Neanderthals extended their range across Europe. Scientists have discovered a lot of Neanderthal remains, but the remains of Denisovans are extremely rare. All of their teeth and fossil bones found so far can fit in a bag and come from two locations: Siberia and Tibet.

The latest discovery in Laos, published in the journal Nature Communications on May 17, showed that the Denisovans had traveled much further south, with an amazingly diverse range from the frozen mountains and plateaus of North and East Asia, to the lowlands. wet in Southeast Asia.

The Denisovans are extinct and have left very few fossil traces, but through interbreeding with modern humans (Homo sapiens), their genetics are still found in many communities in Asia and Oceania. Ocean today. According to AFPThe Aboriginal people of Australia and Papua New Guinea have up to 5% of Denisovan DNA.

The team analyzed the fossilized tooth in the Cobra Cave and determined that it belonged to a girl about 2.5 to 8.5 years old. Due to the high temperature and humidity environment, the specimen is not well preserved, so it is difficult to determine the exact date. Based on protein analysis and 3D X-ray reconstruction, scientists estimate it to be from 131,000 to 164,000 years ago.

The internal structure of the tooth resembles that of the Denisovan molar specimen of Tibet and is clearly distinguishable from modern humans and other archaic species living in the area.

“Everything was in line with what we expected for a Denisovan mandibular tooth,” said paleoanthropologist Bence Viola at Canada’s University of Toronto.

In the next phase, the researchers plan to analyze the oxygen and carbon chemistry of tooth enamel. This could hint at the climate where Denisova lived, as well as what she ate when the molars formed.

Doan Duong (According to National Geographic/AFP)

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