News in Brief Anthropology

Fossil tooth pushes back record of mysterious Neandertal relative

Denisovans lived in Asia at least 100,000 years ago, DNA analysis suggests

Denisovan fossil teeth

OLD CHILD  A 10- to 12-year-old female’s worn-down tooth found in a Siberian cave dates to at least 100,000 years ago, researchers report. That makes this fossil, shown from various angles, the oldest known from a Neandertal-related population called Denisovans.

V. Slon et al/Science Advances 2017

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

DNA retrieved from a child’s worn-down fossil tooth shows the ancient Asian roots of extinct Neandertal relatives called Denisovans, researchers say.