A team of scientists has extracted proteins from 400,000-year-old Homo erectus teeth unearthed in China, yielding evidence that the ancient species interbred with Denisovans, a mysterious human group known largely from Siberian fossil fragments. The finding, published in a leading scientific journal, challenges the long-held view of Homo erectus as an evolutionary dead end that vanished without contributing to modern lineages. Protein analysis, which can survive far longer than DNA in warm climates, allowed researchers to reconstruct genetic relationships where genetic material had degraded beyond recovery.
According to the study, the genetic connection between Homo erectus and Denisovans may have eventually reached modern populations in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and other parts of Southeast Asia, where Denisovan ancestry is already documented. Independent experts described the results as striking but urged caution, noting the sample is small and calling for further fossil evidence to confirm the extent of interbreeding. If validated, the discovery would significantly complicate the human family tree, suggesting our ancestors mingled with a far wider range of archaic species than previously assumed.
Independent reporting synthesized from primary wires and global correspondents.