New Discovery Reveals the Secret Lives of Denisovans

Episode 397 The first evidence has been discovered that Denisovans lived in south-west China. This ancient species of human spent over 100,000 years in the region and left behind incredible artefacts that tell us how they lived. 64,000 fragments of bone have been discovered from Bianfu Cave in Yunnan province. And the site tells us a lot about the food they ate and the animals they hunted - including rhinoceroses, hyenas and prime-age deers. As we discover an increasingly sophisticated culture in this previously mysterious species, what does it teach us about ourselves, and how exceptional Homo sapiens really are? To discuss the findings, Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by science writer Michael Marshall. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Image Credits: Homo longi - Nobu Tamura, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Homo floresiensis - Cicero Moraes, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Neanderthal: Neanderthal-Museum, Mettmann, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices