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Denisova Cave
Денисова пещера | |
 Denisova Cave in 2008 | |
.png)  Location in Russia  Denisova Cave (Altai Krai)  Denisova Cave (Russia) | |
| Alternative name | Аю-Таш |
|---|---|
| Location | Soloneshensky District, Altai Krai |
| Region | Siberian Federal District, Russia |
| Coordinates | 51°23′51″N 84°40′34″E / 51.39750°N 84.67611°E |
| Altitude | 700 m (2,297 ft)[1] |
| Type | limestone, karst |
| Area | 270 m2 (2,900 sq ft) |
| History | |
| Periods | Paleolithic 30,000 to 48,000 years ago |
| Cultures | Denisovans, Neanderthals, Homo sapiens sapiens |
 | |
Denisova Cave (Russian: Денисова пещера, romanized: Denísova peshchéra, lit. 'the cave of Denis') is a cave in the Bashelaksky Range of the Altai Mountains in Siberia, Russia.
It is widely known for having provided items of great paleoarchaeological and paleontological interest. In particular, the 2008 discovery of bone fragments that in 2010 have been conclusively established to have belonged to a separate early human species - the Denisova hominin - which is named after the cave. Other items including artifacts dated to around 40,000 BP. Remains of a 32,000-year-old prehistoric species of horse have also been found in the cave.
The cave is located in a region thought to have been inhabited concurrently in the past by Neanderthals and by modern humans. A bone needle dated to 50,000 years ago was discovered at the archaeological site in 2016 and has been described as the most ancient needle known[2][3][4] (though another possible needle dates to about 10,000 years earlier from South Africa from c. 61,000 years ago[5]).
Denisovans, Neanderthals and related hybrids may have inhabited the Denisova Cave for extended periods, but perhaps not at the same time.[6] The attribution of the needle and certain other artifacts at the cave, whether to Homo sapiens or to the Denisova hominin (also sometimes known as Homo denisova), is uncertain.[7]
- ^ Anatoly P. Derevianko; Alexander V. Postnov; Eugeny P. Rybin; Yaroslav V. Kuzmin; Susan G. Keates (2007). "The Pleistocene peopling of Siberia: A review of environmental and behavioural aspects". Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association. 25: 57–68. doi:10.7152/bippa.v25i0.11915. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Siberian Times 2016was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Zenobia Jacobs; et al. (Jan 30, 2019). "Timing of archaic hominin occupation of Denisova Cave in southern Siberia". Nature. 565 (7741): 594–599. Bibcode:2019Natur.565..594J. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0843-2. PMID 30700870. S2CID 59525956.
- ^ Michael V.Shunkov; et al. (Sep 10, 2020). "Initial Upper Palaeolithic ornaments and formal bone tools from the East Chamber of Denisova Cave in the Russian Altai". Quaternary International. 559: 47–67. Bibcode:2020QuInt.559...47S. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2020.07.027. S2CID 225494150.
- ^ Blackwell, Lucinda (2008). "Middle Stone Age bone tools from the Howiesons Poort layers, Sibudu Cave, South Africa". Journal of Archaeological Science. 35 (6): 1566–1580. Bibcode:2008JArSc..35.1566B. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.11.006.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NYT-20190130was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ The Siberian Times reporter, "Homo sapiens or Denisovans? Who made stunning cave jewellery and artefacts up to 48,000 years ago?" Archived 2019-09-02 at the Wayback Machine, The Siberian Times, February 4, 2016.
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