New Insights on Denisovan Humans from Baishiya Karst Cave
On July 3, 2024, the prestigious academic journal Nature published groundbreaking research from Academician Chen Fahu’s environmental archaeology team. The study focuses on the ancient Denisovan humans found in the Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau, known as the Xiahe Denisovans. The paper, titled “Middle and Late Pleistocene Denisovan Subsistence at Baishiya Karst Cave,” reveals fascinating insights into their survival strategies.
Collaborative Research Efforts
This research is a joint effort by Lanzhou University, the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and various international teams. Key contributors include Professor Zhang Dongju, head of the Paleolithic group, and Academician Chen Fahu, the team’s chief scientist. Dr. Xia Huan, the lead author, conducted the research under their guidance. The study received funding from multiple projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s Basic Science Center. It also garnered significant support from various government agencies, such as the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Gansu Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration.
Comprehensive Analysis of Ancient Remains
The research combines archaeology, chronology, and environmental change studies with advanced techniques like zooarchaeology and ancient protein analysis. The team systematically identified and analyzed over 2,500 animal fossils excavated from the Baishiya Karst Cave site. Located in the Ganjia Basin of Xiahe County, Gansu Province, in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, this site has been the focus of continuous excavations by the Lanzhou University Paleolithic environmental archaeology team since 2018. Thousands of stone tools and animal bones have been collected, revealing a rich cultural history spanning at least 200,000 years.
Key Findings from Recent Excavations
The current findings are based on the analysis of bone materials excavated during the 2018-2019 digs from areas T2 and T3 of the site. These results provide new perspectives on the Denisovan subsistence strategies and their adaptation to the harsh environments of the Tibetan Plateau.
This study not only advances our understanding of Denisovan humans but also showcases the importance of interdisciplinary research and international collaboration in uncovering the mysteries of our ancient past.
Discovering Denisovan Fossils and Their Lifestyle in Baishiya Karst Cave
In a recent breakthrough, researchers identified a Denisovan rib fossil from over 2,000 bone fragments through rapid ZooMS screening. This rib, found in Layer 3 (dated to approximately 48,000-32,000 years ago), provides solid evidence of Denisovan activity in the Late Pleistocene at Baishiya Karst Cave. Advanced proteomic analysis confirmed the fossil’s Denisovan origin. This new find extends the known timeline of Denisovan presence on the Tibetan Plateau to about 40,000 years ago, offering valuable insights into their physical and genetic characteristics and their adaptation to high-altitude environments.
Previous Discoveries and Continuing Research
In 2020, the team published findings in Science on the site’s chronology and ancient sediment DNA, reporting Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from layers dating back 100,000, 60,000, and possibly 45,000 years. In 2019, their research in Nature unveiled a Denisovan jawbone from at least 160,000 years ago, proving their long-term habitation on the Tibetan Plateau from the late Middle Pleistocene to the Late Pleistocene.
Detailed Study of Animal Resource Use
The study also explored how Denisovans utilized animal resources. Researchers identified over 20 animal species from the cave, including extinct species, Tibetan Plateau endemics, and widespread Palaearctic species. Notable finds include herbivores like argali, blue sheep, wild yaks, red deer, Tibetan gazelles, musk deer, wild horses, and woolly rhinoceroses, as well as carnivores like spotted hyenas, leopards, weasels, martens, wolves, and Tibetan foxes. Small mammals like hares, pikas, flying squirrels, marmots, voles, porcupines, and Gansu zokors were also found, alongside birds like ring-necked pheasants and golden eagles.
Denisovan Lifestyle and Adaptation
The analysis revealed that Denisovans lived in a predominantly grassland environment with patches of forest resources. They had a diverse diet and made full use of animal resources, engaging in skinning, dismembering, meat stripping, and marrow extraction. They even experimented with making simple tools from bones.
This comprehensive study, combining proteomics and zooarchaeology, sheds light on the long-term survival strategies of Denisovans on the Tibetan Plateau from approximately 224,000 to 32,000 years ago. It provides reliable evidence of early human activity in the region, marking the third major international publication by the environmental archaeology team focusing on the Baishiya Karst Cave site.
Baishiya Karst Cave: Unearthing Ancient Human History
Baishiya Karst Cave, located at an altitude of 3,282 meters in Xiahe County, Gansu Province, is a significant Tibetan Buddhist monastery site and a popular tourist destination. In the 1980s, a local monk discovered a human right mandible fossil in the cave and gifted it to the Sixth Gongtang Living Buddha, who recognized its importance. After several transfers, the fossil finally came under the care of Academician Chen Fahu for research.
Early Research and Discoveries
Initially, the exact location of the fossil within the cave was unclear, delaying comprehensive research. The team focused on preserving the fossil and conducted extensive archaeological surveys in the Ganjia Basin to find other potential caves and pinpoint the fossil’s original context. In 2016, Chen Fahu enrolled Ph.D. student Xia Huan and teamed her with Zhang Dongju to lead Paleolithic environmental archaeology in the Ganjia Basin.
Their fieldwork revealed Baishiya Karst Cave as the most suitable site for ancient human habitation among the surveyed caves. In 2016, they found stone tools and ancient animal bones near the cave surface, confirming the presence of prehistoric cultural deposits.
Systematic Excavations and Findings
Starting in 2018, Professor Zhang Dongju led three systematic excavations at the cave, in collaboration with the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. These efforts yielded a wealth of stone tools, animal bones, and sediment samples, providing a clearer picture of prehistoric life in the cave.
Comprehensive Study of the Mandible Fossil
In 2016, Chen Fahu’s team devised a detailed research plan for the mandible fossil, assembling an international research team led by Zhang Dongju. The study included dating, physical anthropology, ancient DNA analysis, proteomic analysis, and other tests. Dating revealed that the fossil was at least 160,000 years old, pushing the record of human activity on the Tibetan Plateau back from 40,000 years to at least 160,000 years. Physical anthropology identified the fossil as belonging to an unknown Middle Pleistocene human, while proteomic analysis confirmed it as Denisovan, named “Xiahe Denisovan.”
This mandible fossil, the oldest Denisovan fossil outside Siberia’s Denisova Cave, provides crucial evidence for studying Denisovan physical characteristics, spatial distribution, survival environment, and their role in East Asian human evolution.
Impact and Recognition
The findings, published in Nature in 2019, generated significant interest and support in the paleoanthropology and archaeology communities. The research was recognized as one of the “Top 10 Scientific Advances of China in 2019,” one of the “World’s Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs” by Science, one of the “Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of the World” by Archaeology, and one of the “Top 10 Science News Stories of the World” by Science News.
Exploring Denisovan Resource Use
Further studies examined how Denisovans used animal resources, identifying over 20 animal species from the cave, including extinct species, Tibetan Plateau endemics, and widely distributed Palaearctic species. They found herbivores like argali, blue sheep, wild yaks, red deer, Tibetan gazelles, musk deer, wild horses, and woolly rhinoceroses, along with carnivores like spotted hyenas, leopards, weasels, martens, wolves, and Tibetan foxes. Small mammals like hares, pikas, flying squirrels, marmots, voles, porcupines, and Gansu zokors, as well as birds like ring-necked pheasants and golden eagles, were also identified.
Denisovan Adaptation and Innovation
The analysis showed that Denisovans lived in a grassland environment with scattered forest patches. They had a diverse diet and fully utilized animal resources through skinning, dismembering, meat stripping, marrow extraction, and even making simple bone tools.
This comprehensive study, combining proteomics and zooarchaeology, reveals Denisovans’ long-term survival strategies on the Tibetan Plateau from approximately 224,000 to 32,000 years ago. It provides reliable evidence of early human activity in the region, marking the third major international publication by the environmental archaeology team focusing on the Baishiya Karst Cave site.
Breakthrough Research on Denisovan Activity in Baishiya Karst Cave
In 2020, the same team published groundbreaking findings in Science, showcasing the latest research from Baishiya Karst Cave. This study, involving numerous domestic and international research institutions, combined dating, archaeology, sedimentology, and ancient sediment DNA analysis. The research reconstructed the history of ancient human activity in the cave from approximately 190,000 to 30,000 years ago. Denisovan mitochondrial DNA was successfully extracted from layers dating back 100,000, 60,000, and as recently as 45,000 years ago, confirming their long-term presence on the Tibetan Plateau from the late Middle Pleistocene to the Late Pleistocene. This marked the first reporting of ancient DNA from Paleolithic populations on the plateau, offering crucial insights into early human activity in this high-altitude region.
Key Findings and Their Significance
The study also provided preliminary zooarchaeological results. By combining animal species information from sediment DNA analysis, researchers revealed that Denisovans utilized the cave’s rich animal resources, including some now-extinct species. These findings were significant enough to be recognized by the Smithsonian Institution as one of the “Top 10 Discoveries in Human Origins Research” of 2020 and by the Chinese Geographical Society as one of the “Top 10 Geographical Science Research Advances in China” of 2020.
Continuous Research and International Recognition
The successive publication of Baishiya Karst Cave findings in top international journals has greatly expanded our understanding of Denisovans and early human activity on the Tibetan Plateau. It highlights the research strength and international impact of the environmental archaeology team. Academician Chen Fahu began forming the team in the mid-1990s at Lanzhou University, later establishing a research group on paleoecology and human adaptation at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The combined efforts of these institutions have formed a comprehensive research team covering various periods from the Paleolithic to historical times.
Professor Zhang Dongju has led the Lanzhou University Paleolithic environmental archaeology team in extensive surveys and excavations in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Their work aims to answer key scientific questions about the migration, activity history, population characteristics, cultural aspects, livelihood models, and environmental adaptation of Paleolithic humans on the plateau.
A Legacy of Pioneering Research
Since 2015, the environmental archaeology joint team has published five major papers in Nature and Science (Chen FH et al., Science, 2015; Zhang DJ et al., Science, 2017; Chen FH et al., Nature, 2019; Zhang DJ et al., Science, 2020; Xia H et al., Nature, 2024). These publications underscore the team’s leading role in studying prehistoric human activity on the Tibetan Plateau. The team continues to make significant contributions, enhancing our understanding of how ancient humans explored, adapted to, and settled in this high-altitude region, paving the way for future groundbreaking discoveries.
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