Moștenirea genetică a denisovanilor în Asia de Est și Sud-Est
Genetic inheritance of Denisovans in East and Southeast Asia

Summary/Abstract: In the last 15 years, an increasing amount of information provided by paleogenomics has reshaped the understanding of the origin and evolution of the human species. Among the most important archaeological discoveries that have provided such information is the Denisova cave, in the region of the Altai Mountains, Southeast of Siberia. The Denisovans were defined following the analyzes carried out on the genetic material taken from a small bone fragment discovered in the Denisova cave in 2008. The first sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA, carried out at the Max Plank Institute of Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany under the coordination of Svante Pääbo was published in 2010 and showed that the individuals identified at Denisova shared a common ancestor with Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals 1 million years ago. Until 2021, the Denisovan presence in East and Southeast Asia was only indirectly attested, through genetic results that demonstrated the presence of their genes in the DNA of the current populations of these regions. The publication in 2022 of the discovery from Tam Ngu Hao Cave 2 (Cobra Cave), Laos represents the first direct confirmation of the presence of this human group in Southeast Asia, demonstrating their impressive capacity for adaptation. The Denisovans populated a vast geographical space, from Siberia to the plateaus of Tibet and Southeast Asia, adapting to a variety of climates, from the dry and cold one of Tibet to the tropical climate of Laos.

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