Denisovan fossils have been discovered in Taiwan. A study published on Science.org on Friday confirmed that an ancient human mandibular fossil salvaged from the Penghu Trench in 2015 belonged to a Denisovan male.
The Denisovans or Denisova hominins are an extinct subspecies of Asian human from 285,000 to 25,000 years ago. Denisovan remains had only been found in Siberia and Tibet in the past, so the results of the newly discovered fossil show that they also lived in warm and humid areas, opening a new chapter in human evolution.
In an interview, Dr. CH Tsai (蔡政修) posited the question: If the Denisovans were the first hominins to arrive in Taiwan, when did modern humans come to the island and did they interact? Tsai mentioned that ancient proteins have been extracted for further analysis, providing stronger evidence to verify the identity of the Denisovans. He said that how the Denisovans migrated from Taiwan to Oceania, or what their evolutionary history was, will be the focus of future research.