GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers report in Nature that an abandoned quarry in southwestern China contains fossils and artefacts showing Denisovans occupied the site for at least 30,000 years, possibly up to 120,000 years. The finds include bone tools resembling those made by Neanderthals and evidence that Denisovans hunted deer and other animals skillfully.
Researchers analyzed proteins from two fossilized teeth—a fourth premolar and a second molar—recovered from Bianfu Cave in southwestern China's Yunnan Province, dated to roughly 140,000 years ago. The proteomic evidence confirms these remains belong to Denisovans, adding to the small but growing collection of physical evidence for this elusive archaic human population. The cave, one of the oldest Palaeolithic sites in western Yunnan, also yielded thousands of stone tools and animal fossils alongside four hominin teeth.
Researchers used ancient protein analysis to identify additional Denisovan skeletal remains from a site in Southwest China, expanding the known geographic and fossil record of this archaic human population. The study, published in Nature, builds on prior genetic and proteomic work that has traced Denisovans from Siberia's Denisova Cave to the Tibetan Plateau, Laos, Taiwan, and now southwestern China.
Researchers using a computer algorithm modeled on cave dwelling traits in south Wales identified similar cave sites in Ireland, aided by caving specialist Shane Diffily and digital mapping consultant Darren Lee. The findings from newly discovered cave art suggest that Ireland's earliest known human inhabitants likely crossed over from Wales rather than arriving by another route.
The piece critiques the romanticized idea of disappearing into private, isolated effort—'the Cave'—citing examples like Michael Phelps's Under Armour ad and personal wrestling experience. The author argues that smart devices, recommendation algorithms, and AI reinforce this isolation by feeding people what they already believe rather than challenging them.
Archaeologists exploring a cave in Spain discovered roughly 120 Roman-era inscriptions dedicated to a previously unrecorded deity referred to as 'Domina.' Evidence suggests the cave site may have held ritual or religious importance dating back even further, potentially to the Stone Age.