The Face of the Denisovans

Investigative dossier on the landmark Nature study that decoded ancient collagen from the Xujiayao fossils in China, confirming the anatomical identity and facial reconstruction of the Denisovans, the brainy giants of ancient Asia. Swipe to see →

A HISTORIC SCIENTIFIC STUDY PUBLISHED

Documentary illustrative recreation based on the study published in the journal Nature by the Chinese Academy of Sciences: in the paleoproteomics laboratory, researchers analyze the forensic facial reconstruction of an adult Denisovan alongside.

THE ENIGMA OF THE GHOST LINEAGE

That minuscule bone splinter belonged neither to modern humans (Homo sapiens) nor to Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), but to a completely unknown third population of archaic hominins, informally named the Denisovans.

THE LOST XUJIAYAO COLLECTION AND THE CHALLENGE

The key to resolving this mystery was not hidden inside an inaccessible new excavation, but was waiting quietly inside the storage drawers of the anthropology museum in Beijing.

THE MOLECULAR BARCODE

To bypass the irreversible degradation of ancient DNA caused by deep time and ambient warmth, Prof. Qiaomei Fu's team turned to the most promising frontier technology in prehistoric science: paleoproteomics.

ANATOMY OF A GIANT: A 1,700-ML BRAIN, SQUARE

The human being that emerged from this digital assembly astonished scientists with its imposing proportions and unique combination of physical traits.

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