In the last few years, multiple discoveries have contributed to our understanding of the enigmatic early human group known as the Denisovans. This species is known mostly from genetic data extracted from a handful of fragmentary fossils. A new tooth from Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave) in Laos, southeast Asia, marks only the third site with known Denisovan fossils. This lower molar from a young adult, likely female, individual most closely resembles material from Xiahe in Tibet, China. Since the Xiahe mandible is attributed to Denisovans, this molar is a likely Denisovan fossil as well. The molar dates to between 164,000-131,000 years ago, about as old as the Xiahe mandible. Finding Denisovan fossils in southeast Asia is particularly interesting because the highest proportion of Denisovan DNA in modern humans occurs in people descending from southeast Asia, Indonesia, and New Guinea.

These findings were presented in the journal Nature Communications on May 17th, 2022, by Fabrice Demeter and colleagues.