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Who were the Denisovans? The Harbin "Dragon Man" cranium2 key questions · 4 questions · 2 answered

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QuestionWhere it stands

KeyHow deep are the roots of the Denisovan lineage, and how many distinct Denisovan populations were there?

Most likelyThe lineage goes back about a million years and comprised several deeply diverged regional populations,…

KeyWhich fossils are Denisovans, and so what did Denisovans look like?

AnsweredThe large, robust Middle and Late Pleistocene crania of East Asia (Harbin, Xujiayao and their allies) are…

Is the molecular identification of the Harbin cranium sound?

AnsweredBoth the proteome and the calculus mtDNA are endogenous and Denisovan.

What should the lineage be called?

Most likelyHomo longi, the first formal name given to a member of the lineage