Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Homo erectus and denisovans have been shown to hybridize

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have studied the dental enamel proteins of six individuals of the Homo erectus species from about 400,000 years ago, along with those of a Denisovan. Attention has been focused on two proteins. One was in all the Homo erectus , and not in the Denisovan. This shows that it is specifically erectus. The other one was in everything. And the Homo sapiens-not the Neanderthals, our nearest kinsmen. Therefore, the researchers conclude that this protein has reached the sapiens from the Denisovans, and that before that, the Denisovans and the Homo erectus had hybridized.

“It’s the oldest evidence of hybridizations between human species.”

It's the oldest evidence of hybridizations between human species. In fact, the Homo erectus was the first species to walk upright and like us. It originated about two million years ago in Africa, from where it spread to Asia and Oceania. In some places in the area it lasted until 100,000 years ago. It has now been shown that it hybridized with another human lineage that originated in Asia: the Denisovans. The results were published in the open magazine Nature .

Thanks to the methodology

In the magazine, the methodology used has been highlighted. In fact, until now it has not been possible to carry out paleoproteomic studies with the Homo erectus, which required the destruction of fossils, even if only a small part. With the methodology they have now developed, they have been able to extract proteins from tooth enamel without damaging it.

“With the methodology they have developed, they have been able to extract proteins from tooth enamel without damaging it.”

Otherwise, research is useful to put another piece into the puzzle of human evolution. It was previously known that Neanderthals and Sapiens hybridized in more than one time and place. Both were known to have been mixed with denisovar . And they all left genetic traces in the offspring.

That is why those who study evolution say that the map of human evolution does not have the txura of a tree, but that of the bush. Now another clue has been found in the genome of our species that closes the scrub even more: The Homo erectus.