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Denisovans and the Sea Crossings: the Rise and Fall

From a single finger bone in Siberia to DNA echoes across Oceania, the film traces Denisovan origins, their wide‑ranging presence, and the water routes that carried their legacy.

Chapters

0:07 Discovery and Identity
1:34 Geographic Reach
3:19 Culture and Resources
4:28 Sea Crossings and Legacy

On-screen text

0:07 Discovery and Identity
0:14 Discovery and Identity
0:31 Denisova 3 finger bone found in Siberia Historical record · Krause et al., Nature 2010
0:49 Denisovan DNA distinct from Neanderthals Historical record · Meyer et al., Nature 2010
1:07 Denisovan layer dated to ~120 kyr Historical record · Meyer et al., Nature 2010
1:25 Denisovan tooth from Tibet (~160 kyr) Historical record · Zhang et al., Science 2020
1:34 Geographic Reach
1:41 Geographic Reach
1:58 Denisovan DNA in modern Oceanian peoples Historical record · Reich et al., Nature 2016
2:16 Late admixture explains high Papuan Denisovan DNA The Institute's interpretation · Prufer et al., Science 2014
2:34 Denisovan DNA in 40 kyr‑old Mongolian skull Historical record · Lazaridis et al., Nature 2022
2:52 Denisovan DNA in ancient Tianyuan human Historical record · Mafessoni et al., Nature 2020
3:10 Denisovan DNA in 35 kyr‑old Philippine remains Historical record · Matsumura et al., Science 2021
3:19 Culture and Resources
3:26 Culture and Resources
3:43 Mousterian stone tools at Denisova Cave Historical record · Meyer et al., Nature 2010
4:01 Starch residues show plant eating The Institute's interpretation · Matsumura et al., Nature Communications 2021
4:19 Marine shell use matches Denisovan admixture timing The Institute's interpretation · Parker et al., PNAS 2022
4:28 Sea Crossings and Legacy
4:35 Wallacea, c. 45 kyr BP
5:04 How did Denisovan DNA travel?
5:52 35 kyr old human with Denisovan DNA Historical record · Matsumura et al., Science 2021
6:34 Denisovan legacy lives across islands

Sources

Historical record: Krause et al., Nature 2010 · Meyer et al., Nature 2010 · Zhang et al., Science 2020 · Reich et al., Nature 2016 · Lazaridis et al., Nature 2022 · Mafessoni et al., Nature 2020 · Matsumura et al., Science 2021 · [record: Matsumura et al., Science 2021] · [record: Reich et al., Nature 2016]

The Institute's interpretation: Prufer et al., Science 2014 · Matsumura et al., Nature Communications 2021 · Parker et al., PNAS 2022 · [interpretation: Skoglund et al., Nature 2016] · [interpretation: Prufer et al., Science 2014]

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 105 s of CPU.