Denisovans had low, relatively flat skulls with thick bones, prominent brow ridges and flattened facial features, according to a new study in the journal Nature reported on October 23, 2026.
Denisovans were an extinct human group closely related to Neanderthals that may have lived in East Asia from at least 300,000 to 45,000 years ago, and they have been known mostly from a sparse fossil record. Researchers led by Qiaomei Fu at the Chinese Academy of Sciences extracted 18 ancient proteins from a skull fragment and a jaw fragment excavated at the Xujiayao site in northern China between 1976 and 1979. A collagen variant called COL1A2-996K, which has been found in Denisovans but not in Neanderthals or modern humans, identified the fossils as Denisovan. The team then measured the remains and used 3D models to compare their shapes with Neanderthals, modern humans and other ancient hominins, finding a mix of ancestral traits and features shared with Neanderthals and later humans. The findings suggest Denisovans were widespread across East Asia, well beyond the Siberian caves and Tibetan mountains they are usually associated with.
Source: Phys.org, Rare fossils reveal what ancient Denisovans may have looked like (October 2026)
Image: Denisova Cave, Yuriy59, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.