For more than 15 years, one of humanity's closest ancient relatives existed only as a name and a strand of DNA. Now, scientists have linked that DNA to a massive fossilised skull once nicknamed "Dragon Man," giving the Denisovans their first real face. The breakthrough came after researchers pulled ancient genetic material from dental plaque stuck on the skull, found years ago in north-eastern China, and matched it to the Denisovan lineage, according to findings reported by NHK.
For years, palaeontologists knew the Denisovans existed, but nobody knew what they looked like. They were identified purely through DNA, not bones, which made them something of a ghost species in the human family tree. That is now changing fast, as fossils once filed under different names are being reclaimed as Denisovan, finally giving scientists a physical picture of a group that once shared the planet with both Neanderthals and modern humans.
