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Denisovans

13 August 2021
Biology

At https://phys.org/news/2021-08-people-philippines-denisovan-dna.html … Negrito remnant populations living in the Philippines, suc as the Ayta Magbuken, preserves the highest level of Denisovan DNA and ancestry – even more than the New Guinea highlanders. Migrants from what is now the SE Asia mainland settled in the Philippines, and across the island archipelagos of Indonesia, during the early Holocene or Late Pleistocene, when much of Indonesia was a single landmass joined to the mainland. It is assumed the Negrito peoples, and others, had an origin in Africa – but how then did they get to possess so much Denisovan DNA. The latter was first recorded from a cave in central Asia – in the opposite direction to Africa.

At www.heritagedaily.com/2021/07/neanderthal-and-denisovan-blood-groups-dec… … analysis of the blood groups of three Neanderthals and one Denisovan individual[s] who lived between 100,000 and 40,000 years ago are the basics of this piece of research, collated with additional and older material findings. Previously to the study it was thought Neanderthals had been all  type O blood group just as chimpanzees are type A and gorillas are type B. Now, it seems Neanderthals displayed evidence of all three blood groups – much like modern humans. As the samples seem to have been so small a certain amount of scepticism is warranted. Never the less, as Neanderthals had mixed blood groups in those samples and then we have a paradox. They are getting to be more and more like modern humans every day. As for the Denisovans – but there was only a sample of one.

Over at www.sci-news.com/archaeology/hohle-fels-leaf-point-09905.html … archaeologists found a leaf point used to fix to a wooden shaft that has been positively dated to at least 65,000 years ago – in a cave in Germany. Previously, leaf points were considered the high point of Neanderthal technology as they are quite exquisitely made, dating to not much before 50,000 years ago. The new results are said to blast a hole in that theory. Leaf points could have been in use much longer than the final stages of Neanderthal culture, and overturns the idea they threw big stones at game, but instead, they appear to have speared animals at close range – or at least the larger animals. Did they pen them in first?

PS … the reference to big stones is tongue in cheek and not meant literally. Homo erectus is the one with the big stones that they threw around likes the discus of modern athletes.

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