# Proteomics identifies Denisovan skull fragments and a radius in Bianfu Cave, Southwest China

- Published: 2026-11-12 08:07 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Biology & biochemistry
- Tags: Denisovan fossils, Bianfu Cave, paleoproteomics, zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry, Denisovan radius, hominin parietal bone, Southwest China, Denisova Cave
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-30e839be7c016a58bcd7808a_proteomics_identifies_denisovan/

**Of more than 60,000 bone fragments from Bianfu Cave, protein analysis identified Denisovan remains, including a radius, filling a gap in the record for Southwest China.**

![Proteomics identifies Denisovan skull fragments and a radius in Bianfu Cave, Southwest China](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/1827627d07de4159.png)
*nature.com*

A team of researchers screened more than 60,000 bone fragments from Bianfu Cave in Southwest China and identified Denisovan remains among them, according to a study published on nature.com. [1] Three hominin bones were found: two parietal fragments and one proximal fragment of a radius. [1] They come from layers dated to approximately 167–134 thousand years ago. [1]

## Screening and protein analysis

The authors first screened the fragments by morphology. Of these, 76 were selected for zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS) and 17 for proteomic sequencing. [1] Proteomic analysis confirmed the three new bones as Denisovan, as well as two hominin teeth found during the excavation. [1] The teeth, a lower fourth premolar and a lower second molar, come from layer 7, as does the radius and one of the parietals; the second parietal is from layer 9. [1]

According to the authors, Bianfu Cave is now the Denisovan locality with the most abundant remains of this group outside Denisova Cave in Siberia. [1]

## Why the finds matter

Before this work, only a few finds outside Denisova Cave had been identified as Denisovan by molecular methods: a partial mandible and a rib from Baishiya Karst Cave (Xiahe) on the Tibetan Plateau, the Penghu mandible from the Taiwan Strait, and the nearly complete Harbin cranium from northeastern China. [1] Most putative Denisovan fossils were confined to northern and southeastern China, leaving a gap in the southwest. [1] The authors note that genomic data show substantial Denisovan ancestry in present-day populations of Southeast Asia and Oceania, so the southwestern region is of interest for studying their dispersal. [1]

Postcranial remains were also scarce. Known Denisovan elements of this kind were limited to the Denisova 3 phalanx and the Xiahe 2 rib, and long bones with diagnostic features were absent. [1] The Bianfu Cave radius provides direct information on the radial morphology of Denisovans and some insight into their postcranial phenotype. [1] The authors describe the results as refining the understanding of the evolutionary history of this hominin group. [1]

## Sources

1. [nature.com](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10976-9)
2. [futurezone.de](https://www.futurezone.de/science/article763238/anthropologie-forscher-identifizieren-knochen-einer-mysterioesen-menschengruppe.html)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-30e839be7c016a58bcd7808a_proteomics_identifies_denisovan/