This preprint came out some weeks ago, but is worth noting now: A high-coverage genome from a 200,000-year-old Denisovan by Stéphane Peyrégne among others.
We have lots of material from that cave; Peyrégne-et-al.'re now up to #25, apparently. We can now add that to the six others (or, eight; but #11 and the best-preserved #3 were hybrids). Which are all a lot younger; in fact, they replaced the sort of Denisovan this #25 was.
D#25's ancestors had mixed with Neanders (who'd diverged much earlier). Then, as noted, his - this was a male - descendents left the region before the other seven got there. Did D#25 contribute to later populations?
Mostly what this super-ancient molar is giving us, is a triangulation of the Denisovan tree. Such that, confirmed is that the Denisovan contribution to Melanesia differs entirely from that to East Asians today.
BACKDATE 11/15
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