
Tom Higham, "The World Before Us: The New Science Behind Our Human Origins" (Yale UP, 2021)
New Books in Science
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The Denisivans
The Denisovans are a very curious example because this group was really discovered on the basis of ancient genomics and ancient DNA. And most of the evidence that we've got for Denisivans isn't from skeletons or pieces of bone. But rather like with Neanderthals, scientists have discovered that certain groups of living people have an ancestry that's derived from Denisivans. We think that perhaps early homo sapiens who moved into these areas, interbred with Denisivans who were living there. It looks as though a lot of that DNA that we inherit is giving us some kind of immunological benefit.
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