The closest relatives of the Denisovites were found in the Philippines
Swedish scientists have found a group of people with the largest number of Denisovan genes. It is the indigenous people of the Philippines, the aita-magbukon, according to Current Biology.
Denisovans are extinct hominids who lived in the neighborhood of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. For a long time, practically nothing was known about them. For all the time of research, scientists have found only five small fragments of teeth and bones, all in the Denisova cave in Altai. According to them, one could only say that the Denisovans were larger than Homo sapiens.
New technologies, in particular genetic analysis, have helped scientists learn a lot. They found that Denisovans interbred with the ancestors of modern people, and most of them retained their archaic genes.
Further research has shown that the number of these genes varies between peoples. The Europeans have fewer of them, the natives of Asia – more.
The new analysis showed that the Filipino ethnic group of Negritos, known as the Aita Magbukon, has the largest number of Denisovan genes on Earth – about 5%, which is 30-40 times more than among the Papuans and Australians.
Filipino Negritos (Philippine Negrito) are considered the original inhabitants of the country. They are different from other Filipinos. Their origin remains unknown – perhaps they are the descendants of ancient people who migrated from Africa to Australia.
The authors of the new study sought to establish the demographic history of the Philippines. They analyzed about 2.3 million genotypes from 118 ethnic groups. They noted that the findings reveal a complex history of interactions between modern and archaic people in the Asia-Pacific region.
So, different populations of Denisovans at different times mixed with the ancestors of Homo sapiens who arrived on the islands. Subsequently, their descendants, in turn, began to interbreed with immigrants from East Asia. But the aita-magbukon people led a secluded lifestyle and retained their genetic uniqueness.
Earlier it was reported that traces of the Denisovsky man were found on the Tibetan plateau. The research was carried out in the Baishia Kartovo Cave.
