A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos

Journal article

The Pleistocene presence of the genus Homo in continental Southeast Asia is primarily evidenced by a sparse stone tool record and rare human remains. Here we report a Middle Pleistocene hominin specimen from Laos, with the discovery of a molar from the Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave) limestone cave in the Annamite Mountains. The age of the fossil-bearing breccia ranges between 164-131 kyr, based on the Bayesian modelling of luminescence dating of the sedimentary matrix from which it was recovered, U-series dating of an overlying flowstone, and U-series-ESR dating of associated faunal teeth. Analyses of the internal structure of the molar in tandem with palaeoproteomic analyses of the enamel indicate that the tooth derives from a young, likely female, Homo individual. The close morphological affinities with the Xiahe specimen from China indicate that they belong to the same taxon and that Tam Ngu Hao 2 most likely represents a Denisovan.

Authors: Demeter, F; Zanolli, C; Westaway, KE; Joannes-Boyau, R; Duringer, P

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 2557-2557
• Article number: 2557
• Publication date: 2022-05-17
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29923-z
• EISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• Language: English
• Keywords: Geography; Geology; Biology; Physics; Pleistocene; Chain (unit); Molar; Evolutionary biology; Paleontology