Department of Paleoanthropology, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas,TurkeyTurkey
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The first discovery of Denisovans in 2008, a partial finger bone, provided scant evidence of their skeletal characteristics. Subsequent deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analyses, however, offered a wealth of information on this hominin population. The DNA sequencing demonstrated that Denisovans coexisted with other hominins such as Neanderthals or Homo Sapiens in the Middle Pleistocene.
OpenJournal PUBLISHERS Opinion Why Denisova Cave is Important for Paleolithic Culture? * Civan Ekmekçi, BS* Department of Paleoanthropology, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas,Turkey * *Corresponding author Civan Ekmekçi, BS Department of Paleoanthropology, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas,Turkey; E-mail: civanekmekci@gmail.com Article information th th th th Received: December 13 , 2021; Revised: March 15 , 2022; Accepted: March 18 , 2022; Published: March 18 , 2022 Cite this article Ekmekçi C. Why denisova cave is important for paleolithic culture? Anthropol Open J. 2022; 5(1): 14-15. doi: 10.17140/ANTPOJ-5-125 he first discovery of Denisovans in 2008, a partial finger Furthermore, this techno-complex is unusually ordered bone, provided scant evidence of their skeletal characteris- through time. Besides, in addition to stone tools, bone materi- T tics. Subsequent deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analyses, howev- als and more fitting tooth pendants in the cave demonstrates er, offered a wealth of information on this hominin population. the presence of early Upper Paleolithic Culture. We have this The DNA sequencing demonstrated that Denisovans coexisted complete dating thanks to optically stimulated luminescence with other hominins such as Neanderthals or Homo Sapiens in the (OSL)-method—optically stimulated luminescence—by Centre Middle Pleistocene. Genetic information demonstrates that Den- for Archeological Science at University of Wollongong, Wollon- isovans was a sister group to the Neanderthals and interbred with gong, Australia.3 modern humans, explaining why the people living in Melanesian islands carry five per cent of Denisovan genes.1 In the past few At other North Asian sites such as Malaya Sya and years, key artefacts supporting the genetics have surfaced stone Kara Bom, Laminar Levallois appears to have been the domi- tools, bone points, tooth pendants, and the like. However, one nant technique of lithic production2 shown to have developed class of objects is the most significant, the knapped stone tools of over a period of 100,000-years in Denisova.3 Even farther south the Denisovans. The manufacturing of these tools clearly demon- in Obi-Rahmat, Uzbekistan, in an independent way, the Levallois strates that the Denisovans had been close enough to both Nean- technique persisted for 80,000-years.2 Additionally, aesthetic at- derthals and Modern Humans for intercultural communications. tempts related to bone industry and decorative pendants date to 45,000-years ago in Kazakhstan as well as Denisova, which sug- To study the diversity of middle Pleistocene transition gests that Northern and Central Asia populations communicated (MPT) and the culture of the earliest H. sapiens, recent discover- during their coevolution.
ies of the presence of early H. sapiens in Asia, paleoanthropolo- gists and bioarchaeologists focused mainly on hominin fossils of The oldest Paleolithic Specimens in Denisova Cave are the European continent ignoring Asia and specifically the area associated with the unifacial and bifacial big flake cores of ar- of north of Himalayas, the Barents Sea.2 However, extensive ar- chaic laminar tendencies, dating back to between 195,000 and chaeological excavations in Siberia led by Anatole Derevianko et 122,700-years ago in the Middle Pleistocene.3 Toward the Upper al3 suggest that there are continuous sequences of tool industries Paleolithic sequences around 45,000 and 40,000-years ago, there from Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic.2 Moreover, new geochrono- appears to be a perpetual development to the thinner blades con- logical methods at Denisova Cave supported the evidence of con- nected to knapping the cobbles, especially on ventral faces. Re- tinuous lithic culture without interruption between homo species gional sites with cultural continuity independently indicate that is certain in this massive expanse.3 Denisovans not only interbred with Neanderthals and modern humans, but they were also close enough for cultural communica- Although the Mousterian industry was prominent tions.
among Middle Pleistocene hominids, no trace of Neanderthal’s Mousterian lithic culture was recovered from Denisova Cave until Regional evolution of H. sapiens and industrial continu- now, despite the unquestionable hybridization between the two ity from Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic has been shown in numer- hominin populations.3 Considering layer 11 and its boundaries, ous sites in the North and East Asia,2 given the transition between especially in the east chamber of the cave, an intriguing question Dali and Liujiang crania in Shuidonggou, “and Denisova alongside a is whether the Denisovans utilized both the Middle and the Upper cultural convergence -- from the Levallois technique to the blades — dating Paleolithic industry simultaneously.
cc Copyright 2022 by Ekmekçi C. This is an open-access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which Anthropol Open J. 2022; 5(1): 14-15. doi: 10.17140/ANTPOJ-5-125 Northern Asia from Urals to the Barents Sea, Central Denisovan DNA from the genomes of Melanesian individuals. Asia encompassing Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and the far East Science, 2016; 352(6282): 235-239. doi: 10.1126/science.aad9416 including China and Mongolia all indicate uninterrupted, inde- pendent evolution of hominin species. Therefore, to thoroughly 2. Otte, M., Hommes modernes en Asie septentrionale. [In: apprehend the origins of H. sapiens and their Upper Paleolithic French] L’Anthropologie. 2021; 125(2): 102865. doi: 10.1016/j.an- Techno Complex, it is necessary to carry out more excavation re- thro.2021.102865 search and post-excavation analyses therein.