Pleistocene chronology and history of hominins and fauna at Denisova Cave

Zenobia Jacobs (), Elena I. Zavala (), Bo Li, Kieran O’Gorman, Michael V. Shunkov, Maxim B. Kozlikin, Anatoly P. Derevianko, Vladimir A. Uliyanov, Paul Goldberg, Alexander K. Agadjanian, Sergei K. Vasiliev, Frank Brink, Stéphane Peyrégne, Viviane Slon, Svante Pääbo, Janet Kelso, Matthias Meyer () and Richard G. Roberts ()
Additional contact information
Zenobia Jacobs: University of Wollongong
Elena I. Zavala: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Bo Li: University of Wollongong
Kieran O’Gorman: University of Wollongong
Michael V. Shunkov: Siberian Branch
Maxim B. Kozlikin: Siberian Branch
Anatoly P. Derevianko: Siberian Branch
Vladimir A. Uliyanov: Lomonosov Moscow State University
Paul Goldberg: University of Wollongong
Alexander K. Agadjanian: Russian Academy of Sciences
Sergei K. Vasiliev: Siberian Branch
Frank Brink: Australian National University
Stéphane Peyrégne: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Viviane Slon: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Svante Pääbo: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Janet Kelso: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Matthias Meyer: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Richard G. Roberts: University of Wollongong

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Abstract Denisova Cave in southern Siberia is the only site known to have been occupied by Denisovans, Neanderthals and modern humans. The cave consists of three chambers (Main, East and South), with the archaeological assemblages and remains of hominins, fauna and flora recovered from Main and East Chambers being the most thoroughly investigated to date. Here we report the results of analyses of the Palaeolithic artefacts, faunal remains and hominin and mammalian mitochondrial (mt) DNA recovered from renewed excavations in South Chamber. We construct a calendar-year time scale for the stratified Pleistocene deposits from optical dating of the sediments. The timing of hominin occupation and major turnovers in the mtDNA of Denisovans and large mammals largely accords with the patterns detected in Main and East Chambers. Time gaps in those sequences are partly filled by the South Chamber data and the sediment DNA record of Denisovans after 80,000 years ago is more than doubled in size. We combine the sediment dating and DNA records for all three chambers to reveal the whole-of-cave history of this unique site and the climatic conditions experienced by hominins and fauna over the past 300,000 years, including potential changes in habitat suitability for Denisovans and Neanderthals.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60140-6

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