Denisovan DNA in Late Pleistocene sediments from Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau

A late Middle Pleistocene mandible from Baishiya Karst Cave (BKC) on the Tibetan Plateau has been inferred to be from a Denisovan, an Asian hominin related to Neanderthals, on the basis of an amino acid substitution in its collagen. Here we describe the stratigraphy, chronology, and mitochondrial DNA extracted from the sediments in BKC. We recover Denisovan mitochondria! DNA from sediments deposited similar to 100 thousand and similar to 60 thousand years ago (ka) and possibly as recently as similar to 45 ka. The longterm occupation of BKC by Denisovans suggests that they may have adapted to life at high altitudes and may have contributed such adaptations to modern humans on the Tibetan Plateau.