從解剖上來講，現(xiàn)代人在距今20萬(wàn)年前之后的某個(gè)時(shí)間點(diǎn)上還在非洲,，在此之后相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才達(dá)到歐亞大陸,。與此同時(shí),，包括“尼安德特人”（穴居人）在內(nèi)的古“人族”至少在23萬(wàn)年前就已在歐亞大陸了，只是在距今約3萬(wàn)年前才從化石記錄中消失?，F(xiàn)在,，來自南西伯利亞Denisova Cave中的一個(gè)女性古“人族”個(gè)體的基因組已根據(jù)從一個(gè)手指骨中提取的DNA被測(cè)序。這個(gè)“Denisovan”個(gè)體所屬的群體與“尼安德特人”有一個(gè)共同的起源,，而且盡管它并不涉及假設(shè)中的從“尼安德特人”向歐亞人的基因流動(dòng),，但它對(duì)今天美拉尼西亞人的基因組的貢獻(xiàn)達(dá)4-6%。另外,，一顆牙齒的線粒體基因組與手指骨的線粒體基因組非常像,，這顆牙齒的形態(tài)表明，這些“人族”個(gè)體在演化上與“尼安德特人”和現(xiàn)代人都是截然不同的,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Nature doi:10.1038/nature09710
Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia
David Reich,Richard E. Green,Martin Kircher,Johannes Krause,Nick Patterson,Eric Y. Durand,Bence Viola,Adrian W. Briggs,Udo Stenzel,Philip L. F. Johnson,Tomislav Maricic,Jeffrey M. Good,Tomas Marques-Bonet,Can Alkan,Qiaomei Fu,Swapan Mallick,Heng Li,Matthias Meyer,Evan E. Eichler,Mark Stoneking,Michael Richards,Sahra Talamo,Michael V. Shunkov,Anatoli P. Derevianko,Jean-Jacques Hublin,et al.
Using DNA extracted from a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, we have sequenced the genome of an archaic hominin to about 1.9-fold coverage. This individual is from a group that shares a common origin with Neanderthals. This population was not involved in the putative gene flow from Neanderthals into Eurasians; however, the data suggest that it contributed 4–6% of its genetic material to the genomes of present-day Melanesians. We designate this hominin population ‘Denisovans’ and suggest that it may have been widespread in Asia during the Late Pleistocene epoch. A tooth found in Denisova Cave carries a mitochondrial genome highly similar to that of the finger bone. This tooth shares no derived morphological features with Neanderthals or modern humans, further indicating that Denisovans have an evolutionary history distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans.
