New DNA tests on ancient Denisovan people shows them occupying Altai cave 170,000 years ago

It has been called the cave that holds the key to man's origins, and it keeps producing more surprises. It was here in the Deinsova Cave in 2008 that Siberian scientists discovered a finger bone fragment of 'X woman', a juvenile female believed to have lived around 41,000 years ago. Analysis showed she was genetically distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans.

In 2010 analysis on an upper molar from a young adult, found in the cave ten years previously, was also from a Denisovan. As we reported previously: 'Traces in the 'cultural layer' of the Denisova Cave show the human habitat reaching back 282,000 years.' The richness of the cave's prehistoric contents means scientists from around the world are co-operating in seeking to solve its riddles.