Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: The article describes the morphology of two permanent molars from the Pleistocene layers of Denisova Cave, the Altai Mountains. Denisova 4 is an upper left third or second molar, and Denisova 8 is an upper left third molar. Both specimens were examined using the extended trait battery. Results indicate a high informative potential of dental traits for the analysis of group variation within the genus Homo. They support the view that Denisovans, or H. altaiensis, were a distinct group of hominins differing from both H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis not only genetically but morphologically as well. The distinctive dental features of Denisovans include extremely large dimensions and affi nities with Homo erectus of Sangiran and the Middle Pleistocene hominins of China such as Xujiayao. Based on the morphological analysis of Denisovan upper molars, it is proposed that the unidentifi ed part of the Denisovan genome may stem from Homo erectus. Dentally, Homo altaiensis is a very conservative taxon.
Authors: A. V. Zubova, T. A. Chikisheva, M. V. Shunkov
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W2604194682