Ancient tooth suggests Denisovans ventured far beyond Siberia

A fossilised tooth unearthed in a cave in northern Laos might have belonged to a young Denisovan girl who died between 164,000 and 131,000 years ago. If confirmed, it would be the first fossil evidence that Denisovans — an extinct hominin species that co-existed with Neanderthals and modern humans — lived in southeast Asia. The molar would be only the second Denisovan fossil found outside Siberia, but millions of people with Asian, Oceanian or Pacific Islander ancestry carry traces of Denisovan DNA.