New genetic research has shed fresh light on one of the most mysterious chapters in human evolution—the relationship between modern humans and Denisovans, an extinct group of ancient humans who once lived across Asia.
A study published in Current Biology has mapped how Denisovan DNA spread, changed, and survived in human populations over the past 40,000 years, revealing a surprisingly complex picture of ancient contact and migration.
The study, led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, is the first to systematically analyze DNA segments inherited from Denisovans in both ancient and present-day humans.
By tracing these genetic fragments across time and geography, the team reconstructed how Denisovan ancestry appeared and evolved in populations across Eurasia.
One of the most striking findings came from the Tianyuan individual, an early modern human who lived in northern China about 40,000 years ago.
This person carried the highest level of Denisovan ancestry—around 0.2%—of any ancient or modern human studied.
The research suggests that early East Asians shared a common history of interbreeding with Denisovans, but later migrations of other human groups gradually diluted this ancient genetic signature.
“Denisovan DNA acts like a time capsule,” said population geneticist Stéphane Peyrégne, who co-supervised the study. “By tracking these fragments, we can reconstruct human population history—who interacted with whom, and when.”
The study also found that a small amount of Denisovan DNA eventually reached Western Eurasia, likely through population movements from East Asia that began around 12,000 years ago. This challenges earlier assumptions that Denisovan ancestry was confined to East Asia and Oceania.
Another surprising result came from the Jomon people, the ancient inhabitants of Japan and the Ryukyu Islands, who contributed to the ancestry of modern Japanese populations. Despite being East Asian, the Jomon carried the lowest level of Denisovan ancestry of any group in the region.
Their genetic patterns suggest they descended from a lineage that did not directly meet Denisovans, instead acquiring small traces of Denisovan DNA later through gene flow from mainland East Asians.
“This tells us that not all East Asian groups met Denisovans,” said Jiaqi Yang, lead author of the study. “Some populations may have taken different migration routes through Asia—or perhaps Denisovans were so sparsely distributed that encounters with them were rare.”
Overall, the findings reveal that human–Denisovan interactions were far from uniform. Rather than a single episode of interbreeding, the history of Denisovan ancestry reflects a mosaic of contacts, migrations, and population replacements that unfolded over tens of thousands of years.
While many details remain unknown, new ancient DNA discoveries promise to deepen our understanding of these long-lost relatives—and how their genetic legacy continues to live on in us today.
