%0 Journal Article
%A Bailey, Shara E.
%A Hublin, Jean-Jacques
%A Antón, Susan C.
%+ Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
%T Rare dental trait provides morphological evidence of archaic introgression in Asian fossil record  : 
%G eng
%U https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0004-02CA-6
%R 10.1073/pnas.1907557116
%7 2019-07-08
%D 2019
%8 23.07.2019
%* Review method: peer-reviewed
%X The recently described Denisovan hemimandible from Xiahe, China [F. Chen et al., (2019) Nature 569, 409–412], possesses an unusual dental feature: a 3-rooted lower second molar. A survey of the clinical and bioarchaeological literature demonstrates that the 3-rooted lower molar is rare (less than 3.5% occurrence) in non-Asian Homo sapiens. In contrast, its presence in Asian-derived populations can exceed 40% in China and the New World. It has long been thought that the prevalence of 3-rooted lower molars in Asia is a relatively late acquisition occurring well after the origin and dispersal of H. sapiens. However, the presence of a 3-rooted lower second molar in this 160,000-y-old fossil hominin suggests greater antiquity for the trait. Importantly, it also provides morphological evidence of a strong link between archaic and recent Asian H. sapiens populations. This link provides compelling evidence that modern Asian lineages acquired the 3-rooted lower molar via introgression from Denisovans.
%K Denisovan; introgression; dental anthropology; root morphology; Pleistocene Homo
%J Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
%V 116
%N 30
%&  14806
%P  14806 - 14807
%I National Academy of Sciences
%C Washington
%@ 0027-8424