Xujiayao Hominins Identified as Denisovans by 18 Proteins From 199,000-138,000 Years Ago
Updated
Updated · Nature.com · Oct 21
Xujiayao Hominins Identified as Denisovans by 18 Proteins From 199,000-138,000 Years Ago
3 articles · Updated · Nature.com · Oct 21
Summary
Two Xujiayao fossils—a parietal bone and a mandible dated to about 199,000-138,000 years ago—were classified as Denisovan through palaeoproteomics, resolving a long-running debate over the Chinese assemblage’s place in human evolution.
Eighteen endogenous proteins were recovered, and both specimens carried the Denisovan-specific COL1A2-996K mutation; in a Bayesian tree built from 2,074 amino-acid positions, the samples clustered with Denisovans with more than 99% posterior probability.
Morphological comparisons then linked Xujiayao with Harbin, Jinniushan, Dali and Hualongdong, arguing that much of East Asia’s late Middle Pleistocene archaic Homo belongs to the Denisovan lineage rather than separate species groups.
The study sketches Denisovans as a broad East Asian lineage combining erectus-like, modern-human-like and some Neanderthal-like traits, and suggests they ranged across the region for roughly 300,000 to 45,000 years.
Could the ancient protein linking Chinese fossils to Denisovans finally solve the mystery of East Asia's diverse and debated human ancestors?
Did the massive, 190-centimeter-tall Denisovans roaming ancient Asian forests cross paths with our own human ancestors before mysteriously vanishing?
Unmasking Denisovans: The 2026 Xujiayao Protein Discovery That Redefined East Asian Human Evolution
Overview
In October 2026, scientists solved a major mystery in human evolution by using palaeoproteomics to analyze ancient proteins from Xujiayao fossils in northern China. Because ancient DNA could not survive, researchers extracted and identified 18 ancient proteins, including a Denisovan-specific collagen mutation. Phylogenetic analysis placed these fossils firmly within the Denisovan lineage. This breakthrough established Xujiayao and Harbin as reference points for Denisovan anatomy, allowing scientists to link other East Asian fossils to the Denisovan group. The findings also revealed that Denisovans were widespread, adapted to diverse environments, and interbred with both modern humans and Neanderthals, shaping the genetic diversity of present-day populations.