Qingfeng Shao

The taxonomy and phylogeny of late Middle Pleistocene hominins in East Asia remain highly debated¹. Xujiayao, a key representative assemblage with many fossils and a clear stratigraphy dating to around 199–138 thousand years ago, has been extensively studied, but its evolutionary position remains uncertain. Here, to clarify this, we analysed Xujiayao material through both palaeoproteomic analysis and morphological comparisons with other East Asian late Middle Pleistocene archaic Homo. Proteomic analysis of two specimens identified 18 endogenous proteins, and the Denisova-specific COL1A2-996 R>K mutation strongly supported their affiliation with the Denisovan lineage. Extended analysis identifies a set of shared morphological traits between Denisovan fossils (Xujiayao and Harbin) and other East Asian late Middle Pleistocene archaic Homo (such as Jinniushan, Dali and Hualongdong), indicating that they all belong to the Denisovan lineage. This analysis provides a comprehensive view of Denisovan features, showing both traits reminiscent of Homo erectus (such as a thick cranial vault) and those characteristic of modern humans (for example, a strongly arched temporal squama). They also share features with late Neanderthals, such as the structure of the temporal labyrinth and the presence of a suprainiac fossa. Notably, Denisovans are distinctive, with a low cranial profile with near-parallel lateral walls, a massive supraorbital torus, a flat zygomaxillary region and weak prognathism.

The woolly rhinoceros was a prominent Ice Age megafaunal species, and there is limited knowledge regarding its origin and responses to past glacial cycles. We sequenced 29 mitochondrial and 14 nuclear genomes from Pleistocene specimens across Eurasia and modeled the species’ habitats over the past 500,000 years. Our results suggest that its maternal genetic diversity mainly evolved in temperate Eurasia around 460 thousand to 420 thousand years ago during a prolonged glacial-interglacial transition. We found that a ~170-thousand-year-old East Asian individual was ancestral to all later populations, indicating East Asia as one possible origin of Late Pleistocene ancestry. We also identified the Altai region as a major climatic refugium. These findings highlight the crucial role of temperate Eurasia in the evolution of woolly rhinoceroses and the diversification of cold-adapted megafauna.

Growing fossil and genomic evidence has substantially advanced our understanding of Denisovans’ evolutionary history^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,146,000-year-old Harbin cranium. Cell 188, 3919–3926 (2025)." href="/articles/s41586-026-10997-4#ref-CR9" id="ref-link-section-d88671996e1056">9}, yet their technological behaviours and subsistence strategies remain poorly documented. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of hominin fossils and associated archaeological remains from Bianfu Cave, Yunnan Province, southwestern China. The hominin fossils are dated to about 167–134 thousand years ago (ka), whereas the cultural sequence spanned from about 190 ka to 70 ka, representing one of the longest cultural records most parsimoniously attributed to Denisovans—identified through enamel–dentine junction morphology and palaeoproteomic analyses¹⁰. The new fossils include four teeth that expand the known dental variation of this group, two cranial fragments and a radius. Faunal and pollen records indicate a conifer-dominated forest or forest-steppe environment across Marine Isotope Stages 6 to 4. The inhabitants of Bianfu Cave practised specialized hunting of medium- to large-bodied prey and used a technological strategy characterized by expedient core reduction and tool production, alongside pervasive use of unmodified bones. This pattern suggests an adaptive system prioritizing the exploitation of object affordance over intensive tool manufacture. Bianfu Cave provides unprecedented insights into Denisovan biology, behaviour and ecology in eastern Asia and points to a substantial genetic and cultural legacy in later populations in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

More than a decade of multidisciplinary research has identified a collection of cranial, facial and dental remains of Denisovans from across Asia, providing insight into their cranial capacity, appearance, diet and evolutionary history. However, our understanding of their spatiotemporal dispersal and morphological phenotype is limited by a conspicuous distribution gap in Southwest China and the scarcity of postcranial remains, in particular, the absence of long bones with diagnostic characteristics. To identify further hominin long bones, we morphologically screened more than 60,000 bone fragments from Bianfu Cave in Southwest China, of which 76 were selected for zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry and 17 for proteomic sequencing analysis. These analyses identified three hominin fossils, comprising two parietal bone fragments and one proximal radial fragment, from layers dated to approximately 167–134 thousand years ago¹. Subsequent proteomic analysis confirmed the taxonomic affiliation of these newly identified hominin bones, as well as that of two hominin teeth discovered during the excavation, as Denisovan. These findings establish Bianfu Cave as a Denisovan locality yielding the most abundant remains of this hominin group outside Denisova Cave in Siberia. The results also fill a critical geographic gap in the documented distribution of Denisovans and refine our understanding of their evolutionary history. Furthermore, this study provides direct information on the radial morphology of Denisovans, providing insight into their postcranial phenotype.

The evolution of multidecadal climate variability in the Asian monsoon region across cold-to-warm transitions over the past two millennia remains poorly constrained. Here, we present high-resolution multi-proxy records (δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and Ba/Ca) from stalagmite RY2 in Riyue Cave, southwestern China, spanning 673–1307 CE, to investigate multidecadal climate variability and its driving mechanisms from the Dark Ages Cold Period (DACP) to the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). Our results indicate that RY2 δ¹³C mainly reflects temperature-related regional ecosystem changes under the humid monsoonal setting, as supported by significant correlations with independent temperature reconstructions. Furthermore, the RY2 multi-proxy records indicate reduced multidecadal variability from the DACP to the MWP. This decline is statistically robust in the temperature-sensitive δ¹³C record and in the three trace-element records, whereas the corresponding change in δ¹⁸O is weaker and not statistically significant. The observed pattern is consistent with a possible role for enhanced solar variability and greater instability in North Atlantic Ocean sea-ice conditions during the DACP, although the present evidence primarily supports temporal correspondence, and these factors’ relative contributions remain to be quantified.

Previous efforts to link Palaeolithic cultural records to specific populations through DNA analysis have focused on materials from archaeological floor deposits such as bones, sediments, and artefacts. In this study, we explore whether rock art, a spatially distinct expression of human activity, can also preserve DNA traces from its creators. We analyse DNA preservation in pigment samples collected in and around 24 rock art panels from 11 caves across Spain and Portugal, including simple marks (from nine sites), hand stencils (Maltravieso Cave, Extremadura, Spain), and figurative paintings (Cave of Altamira, Cantabria, Spain). We recover traces of ancient human mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, unaccompanied by faunal DNA, from a pigmented calcite crust at Escoural Cave (Portugal), as well as from an unpigmented cave wall sample from the same site. The absence of faunal DNA in both samples suggests direct DNA deposition through human contact. In contrast, three additional unpigmented samples, from Escoural and Covarón Cave (Asturias, Spain), yielded mixtures of human and faunal DNA, suggesting indirect deposition. Although our results do not conclusively link ancient human DNA preservation to the generation of cave art, we show that traces of human DNA can persist on cave walls for thousands of years.

Recent and ongoing fieldwork at Bacon Hole, located on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales, is being conducted by an international team of researchers. This work includes pigment analysis and a chronometric dating programme focused on a vertical painted surface within a side chamber. The painted surface is considered a product of human agency, specifically applied haematite. Originally identified in 1912 by Professor William Sollas and Henri Breuil as Palaeolithic cave art, the painted panel was dismissed by 1928. In September 2022, the painted surface, along with other potential paintings, was rediscovered. In April 2023, the First Art team sampled the pigments for organic residues, while a team from the University of Southampton collected samples from several calcite flows overlying the painted surface for uranium–thorium dating. As a scientific control for the initial dating programme, the First Art team, in collaboration with scientists from Nanjing Normal University, conducted a second round of sample collecting and analysis in May 2024. This paper presents a discussion of the history and archaeological significance of the site, along with the results of the pigment and dating analysis carried out in April 2023 and May 2024.

Palaeogenetic evidence suggests that the last common ancestor of present-day humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans lived around 765–550 thousand years ago (ka) ¹ . However, both the geographical distribution and the morphology of these ancestral humans remain uncertain. The Homo antecessor fossils from the TD6 layer of Gran Dolina at Atapuerca, Spain, dated between 950 ka and 770 ka (ref. ² ), have been proposed as potential candidates for this ancestral population ³ . However, all securely dated Homo sapiens fossils before 90 ka were found either in Africa or at the gateway to Asia, strongly suggesting an African rather than a Eurasian origin of our species. Here we describe new hominin fossils from the Grotte à Hominidés at Thomas Quarry I (ThI-GH) in Casablanca, Morocco, dated to around 773 ka. These fossils are similar in age to H. antecessor , yet are morphologically distinct, displaying a combination of primitive traits and of derived features reminiscent of later H. sapiens and Eurasian archaic hominins. The ThI-GH hominins provide insights into African populations predating the earliest H. sapiens individuals discovered at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco ⁴ and provide strong evidence for an African lineage ancestral to our species. These fossils offer clues about the last common ancestor shared with Neanderthals and Denisovans.