Modern humans inherited part of their ancestry from multiple, genetically distinct Denisovan groups through interbreeding events. However, the history of contact with Denisovans remains unclear. In a recent study, researchers conducted the first systematic paleogenetics analysis of DNA segments inherited from Denisovans, identified in ancient and present-day humans. By tracing these segments over the past 40,000 years, they reconstructed the dynamics of Denisovan ancestry over time and space across continental Eurasia.