They were discovered from a finger bone
In 2010 researchers sequenced DNA from a small finger fragment from Denisova Cave in Siberia and found an archaic lineage closely related to Neanderthals but genetically distinct. The genome showed that Denisovans contributed ancestry to some present-day populations.
Their range was much wider than one Siberian cave
A large mandible from Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau was identified as Denisovan using ancient proteins and dated to at least 160,000 years ago. Sedimentary DNA and a later rib extend Denisovan occupation of the high plateau deep into the Late Pleistocene.
They were behaviourally adaptable people
Animal bones from Baishiya show systematic carcass processing for meat, marrow and hides, with bone also used as raw material. The evidence contradicts any picture of Denisovans as a single isolated cave population with little ecological flexibility.
Part of them survives in living humans
Denisovan ancestry persists at different levels in several modern populations, especially in parts of Oceania and Asia. Some inherited variants, including high-altitude adaptations in Tibetans, show that interbreeding had lasting biological consequences.
Research record
Reich et al. (2010) — Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova CavePeer-reviewed · open sourceChen et al. (2019) — Denisovan mandible from the Tibetan PlateauPeer-reviewed · open sourceXia et al. (2024) — Denisovan subsistence at Baishiya Karst CavePeer-reviewed · open sourceWho Were the Denisovans?
Direct answer: Denisovans were a widespread archaic human lineage closely related to Neanderthals, capable of living in very different Asian environments and interbreeding with ancestors of living humans.
Their existence and genetic legacy are secure. Their appearance, internal diversity, full geographic range and exact taxonomic status remain much less certain because the fossil record is still extremely sparse.