Question

UPSC Prelims 2019 Question:

The word ‘Denisovan’ is sometimes mentioned in media in reference to

  1. 1. fossils of a kind of dinosaurs
  2. 2. an early human species
  3. 3. a cave system found in North-East India
  4. 4. a geological period in the history of Indian subcontinent

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2: an early human species

Detailed Solution

Explanation: 

  • Denisovans are another population of early humans who lived in Asia. They were distantly related to Neanderthals (Early humans who lived in Europe from about 400,000 years ago to 40,000 years ago). The first evidence for Denisovans was first discovered in 2008 in a cave in the Altai mountains in Siberia.

  • Scientists have sequenced Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes from fossils discovered in Europe and Asia. This genome sequencing can be helpful to find evolution in human beings.

Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.

Subject: Science & Technology | Recent Developments

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