Who Were The Denisovans?

Studies have found Neanderthal DNA in people living in - and descended from - populations in Europe, Asia, and, most recently, Africa. So, in a way, these ancient relatives of ours are somehow both here and gone. We know we shared the planet with them in the not-so-distant past… But what happened to them?

The Denisovans are a human relative discovered just over a decade ago. The DNA from the very small number of fossils found suggest they were around as long as the Neanderthals. Yet anthropologists have gathered way more evidence for Neanderthals. Where are the Denisovans hiding?

How do we start to reconstruct the soundscapes of the past? Using modern environments, living representatives of ancient groups, and fossil anatomy, paleontologists have attempted to figure out what the past sounded like. And so far we’ve found the lead singers change, but the backup singers remain familiar.