Archaeologists have isolated the DNA of an ancient woman from jewelry found in Denisova Cave

The first evidence of the presence of Homo sapiens in Altai, or rather, in the Denisova Cave, was found by scientists from the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the German Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The DNA of an ancient Upper Paleolithic woman has been isolated from her jewelry, a red deer incisor. Head of the Department of Stone Age Archeology of the IAET SB RAS Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail SHUNKOV told MK about the amazing find and the complex work carried out by an international group of scientists.

Recall that the first sensational discovery of the Denisov man (it was the phalanx of the finger of a 7-12 year old girl) was made in Altai in 2008. The name of the newly discovered species came from the name of the cave itself, located in the Soloneshensky district of the Altai Territory.

It is believed that Denisovans separated from the general evolutionary tree about a million years ago. In Denisova Cave, he appeared presumably 300 thousand years ago, having come to Altai from the Middle East.

In 2010, the Denisova Cave revealed another secret: at one time, about 40 thousand years ago, representatives of two species lived together in it: Denisovans and Neanderthals, this was revealed thanks to the found phalanx of the little toe of the left foot, which belonged to a Neanderthal woman. Genetic analysis of the little finger also showed that it contained features of both species. This indicated that the two species interbred. The mother of the cave dweller was a Neanderthal, and her father was a Denisovan.

And finally, in 2023, we learn that in addition to Denisovans and Neanderthals, representatives of Homo sapiens lived in the famous cave! A pendant made from a red deer incisor, from which the DNA of a modern-type woman was subsequently isolated, helped to find out. The scientists reported this in the journal Nature.

Help “MK”. The DNA of modern man differs from the DNA of the Neanderthal by 202 nucleotides (letters of the genetic “alphabet”), and from the Denisovan man by 385 nucleotides.

– Mikhail Vasilyevich, tell us what is this mysterious pendant from which DNA was isolated?

– The pendant – a deer tooth with a drilled hole – was discovered in the southern gallery of Denisova Cave back in 2019. Teeth are a very informative material, in which, as it turned out, even the genetic material of the people who use it can be preserved. This was proved by paleogenetics four years after the discovery.

Has anyone isolated human DNA from jewelry before?

– Perhaps this was done for later, ancient or medieval finds. But before us – the Paleolithic! Age from 19 to 25 thousand years. For this age, nothing like this has yet been received.

A combination of factors played a role here: the most modern equipment that our colleagues from the Max Planck Institute have, new methods for isolating genetic material from fossil material, and the good preservation of this very material in Denisova Cave. The degree of preservation of the finds could be compared with the remains from the Bacho Kiro cave in Bulgaria, where not so long ago the bones of the most ancient Homo sapiens in Europe, 45 thousand years old, were found.

But in our case, let me remind you, DNA was isolated for the first time not from bone remains, but from the jewelry worn by a woman, most likely the North Eurasian population of Paleolithic man! According to the so-called genetic clock, the age of the find was established – 19-25 thousand years.

– It turns out that the isolated DNA is the first sign of the anthropological presence of Homo sapiens in the Denisova Cave?

– You can say so, except that two or three years ago we already sequenced the DNA of Homo sapiens from the local loamy deposits, from the cultural layer. But this is the first time that this has been done from the bone material of the decoration.

– It turns out that Homo sapiens lived in the Denisova Cave along with other species: with Denisovans and Neanderthals?

– Yes, it turns out that in the Paleolithic era, he came from the West and began to settle in Altai. There is nothing particularly sensational about this. Another thing is interesting: how did representatives of different species interact with each other? Was there interbreeding and cultural mutual influence between them, as between Denisovans and Neanderthals?

– And theoretically, could it be?

– Theoretically, yes. But we will know for sure only if we find hard facts testifying to such contacts. DNA isolated from the pendant is still considered indirect evidence of the stay of Homo sapiens in Denisova Cave.