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Chinese scientists and archaeologists have jointly excavated fossilized human remains from Bianfu Cave in southwest China, identifying them as Denisovans – an enigmatic population of extinct hominins. #ChinaSeen The research team screened more than 60,000 bone fragments from the cave, selecting 76 for zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry and 17 for proteomic sequencing analysis. These methods identified three hominin fossils – two parietal bone fragments and one proximal radial fragment – dating back approximately 167,000 to 134,000 years. According to studies published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, subsequent proteomic analysis confirmed the taxonomic affiliation of these newly identified bones, alongside two additional hominin teeth discovered during the excavation, as Denisovan. This breakthrough discovery establishes Bianfu Cave as a vital new locale for the study of human origins. (Image via the journal Nature)