30,000-year-old girl's pinkie points to new early human species

[Octafish]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- An overlooked female pinkie bone put in storage after it was discovered in a Siberian cave two years ago points to the existence of a previously unknown prehistoric human species, anthropologists say.

And the lineage of that species may survive today in some people in Papua New Guinea and nearby islands, scientists say.

SNIP...

Anthropologists say the 30,000- to 50,000-year-old finger is evidence of a new population of hominids they call Denisovans. The name is derived from the southern Siberian cave in which the finger bone was found.

SNIP...

The Denisovans, the scientists say, were more closely related to Neanderthals than modern humans. The discovery in Siberia suggests they may have lived across a wide swath of Asia and are likely to have intermingled with the ancestors of modern humans who migrated eastward from Africa.



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/12/23/siberia.human.ancestor.discovery/?hpt=T2

---

Fascinating story, humanity's.

[eleny]

1. K&R

Chills of joy over this find!

[Octafish]

5. Neanderthal cousins genome reaction roundup (USA Today)

Neanderthal cousins genome reaction roundup

[TrogL]

31. From the article

"This is eerily precisely what an anthropologist in 1950 would have said, more or less, before the great curtain of political correctness came down on human biology."

"This" being "Put crudely Melanesians are about 10% non-human (Neanderthal + Denisovan), Europeans and Asians are about 3% non-human, and so on."

...

"Our textbooks are just saturated with long winded explanations about the irrelevance of race to anything else, and the idea pervades our universities like Marxism did in universities in the former Soviet Union. The new data show that there are likely rather profound and important differences among human groups and that we have to face up to them"

The point being, near as I can make out, is that there is such a thing as "race". He doesn't go so far as to say "racism is justified", but I expect it shortly.

[creeksneakers2]

2. Amazing discovery

[Octafish]

6. Truly is.

Denisovans were a "sister group" to Neanderthals.

The more we learn, the more we find there is to know.

[freshwest]

3. Could you show the context of your signature quote?

[Octafish]

4. Goes to the heart of things...

Dulles, Rusk, Lodge, Harriman...undemocratic and pro-colonial warmongers and greedheads at the service of capital.

'Arrogant' CIA Disobeys Orders in Viet Nam

PS: A hearty welcome to DU, freshwest!

[freshwest]

9. Thanks for the welcome. Will be going into the link.

I thought Galbraith was good on the economics. I'll look into what you gave me, maybe find the entire article somewhere. Our descent into... whatever... didn't happen overnight.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

7. Fascinating!

After reading this, I wanted to look at pictures of the people of Papua New Guinea and I found this;

http://www.bakubo.com/Irian%20Jaya/ij-report.htm

I found it very interesting. There is a mention of killing a pig, but it wasn't too offensive for me. I'm a vegetarian,lol. I was really bothered by the fact they sleep in smoke filled huts with no chimneys. I don't believe in changing other peoples cultures, but I wish someone would help them with their smoke issue, it's so unhealthy.

[sarcasmo]

8. The discoveries just keep getting better, thanks Anthropologists.

[devils chaplain]

10. Neanderthals...

This reminds me of our initial arrogant reluctance to admit that we have interbred with Neanderthals also. I'd bet we'll unearth more subspecies like this in the future lurking in our DNA. So fascinating to learn about our past and the world about us... science is awesome. :)

[unkachuck]

11. why do I always see a negative?

"Also, a comparison of the genome to modern humans indicates that Melanesian inhabitants of Papua New Guinea and various South Pacific islands inherited as much as 5 percent of their DNA from Denisovans.

The Denisovans, the scientists say, were more closely related to Neanderthals than modern humans.

The genome research was conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany."

....does my untrained nose smell a whiff of potential racism? Why would I be extremely surprised if researchers at the Max Planck Institute would ever discovered a connection between the Neanderthals and the people of Leipzig?

[devils chaplain]

12. Fear not...

... and prepare to be extremely surprised. Check this report from the Max Planck Institute:

http://www.eva.mpg.de/neandertal/press/presskit-neandertal/pdf/PR_MPI_Neandertal_EN.pdf

[unkachuck]

13. extremely surprised and standing corrected, thank you....

"...between one and four percent of the DNA of many humans living today originate from the Neandertal."

....and, Welcome to DU, devils chaplain!

[devils chaplain]

15. Hey, thanks! :)

There are several racist pseudo-science orgs out there but the Max Planck Institute ain't one of them. And thanks for the welcome.

[AngryAmish]

14. Genetics is causing a lot of distress to many anthropologists

Science is a bitch, no?

[alfredo]

17. That's what makes it fun.

[daleo]

30. All non-Africans have some Neanderthal DNA

I guess racists could turn that into a plus or minus, depending on which group they belonged to personally. It would be silly though.

[alfredo]

16. Pointing is impolite, even with your pinkie.

[Thor_MN]

19. You would think that after 30,000 years she would have learned that

when you point at someone, you have 4 fingers pointing back at you....

[alfredo]

23. Once you reach 5,000 years you are pretty much set in your ways.

[Thor_MN]

26. :)

:applause: :rofl:

[burrowowl]

18. It is far-out!

Already heard about. Why can't people devote themselves to peace, protecting the environment and studying, learning about our earth and the universe?

[devils chaplain]

20. Amen!

Why can't people devote themselves to peace, protecting the environment and studying, learning about our earth and the universe?

Humanity at its very best. But for some sad reason we value growth in GDP more than those wonderful things.

[Downwinder]

24. Might be the Neanderthal in us.

[devils chaplain]

25. Could be

Might be the Neanderthal in us.

Conspicuous consumption really is no different from wearing a big head-dress or even just a peacock flashing its tail.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. The idea that Neader survived in some way

has been always in the back of my mind... but now we seem to have proof... GOOD

[alfredo]

27. Proof positive

[justiceischeap]

22. But that can't be, Earth & mankind is only 6000 yrs old, right?

At least that's what the fundies claim...

[IDemo]

28. Wouldn't she have left girlhood at 10,000 or 15,000?

[Taverner]

29. I am always amazed when archaeologists reconstruct a species from a single bone

Fundies like to say this is proof evolution is wrong, but its them who don't get how amazing the process they use is. The scientists take micro-measurements and reconstruct the hand from the apparent wear and tear on the bone, and then from that going to the theoretic bone, and then next bone. Of course a lot of the gaps are also filled in by other fossils of other species that are similar. The way I just described the process doesn't do it justice, and I apologize, as a non archaeologist but an archaeologist sympathizer :)