Ancient Hybrid Adds Another Layer Of Complexity To Timeline Of Humans’ Evolution
The discovery of bone fragments of a female with a Denisovan dad and a Neanderthal mom is a genetic jackpot for scientists who knew that the hybrids existed but didn't really expect to find proof.
Los Angeles Times:
Found: An Ancient Hominin Hybrid Who Had A Neanderthal For A Mother And A Denisovan For A Father
Anthropologists have just hit the genomic jackpot. Among the thousands of bone fragments excavated from an ancient cave in the Altai mountains in Siberia, scientists have identified an inch-long shard that belonged to a rare hominin hybrid: a female with a Denisovan dad and a Neanderthal mom. (Netburn, 8/22)
NPR:
Neanderthals Got It On With Other Groups Of Ancient Humans
"We then have very direct evidence – almost caught in the act, so to say – of mixing with each other," says Svante Pääbo, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, who led the research. He says the discovery of first generation offspring of these two groups was "almost too lucky to be true." (Wamsley, 8/22)
