160,000 year-old remains of human relative found in Tibet: study

[PARIS] Scientists said Oon Wednesday they had unearthed the 160,000-year-old remains of an early human relative in mountainous Tibet - a discovery that could transform our understanding of how early man adapted to life at altitude.

A team of researchers traced the DNA of a jawbone found in a cave on the Tibetan Plateau to the Denisovans, a defunct cousin of modern humans.

It is the first time Denisovan remains have been found outside the Siberian cave that gave them their name and suggests early human relatives lived at altitude for tens of thousands of years longer than previously thought.

AFP