The word 'Denisovan' is sometimes mentioned in media in reference to
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) an early human species
Denisovans are an early human group (an archaic hominin population of the Late Pleistocene) first identified from DNA taken from a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. The name has nothing to do with dinosaurs, a cave system in North-East India or a geological period.
- ✓ (b) In 2010 researchers sequenced the genome of an archaic hominin from a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, and named this hominin population 'Denisovans'. Their DNA shows they shared a common origin with Neanderthals.
- ✗ (a) Denisovans were hominins, that is, relatives of modern humans, not dinosaurs.
- ✗ (c) Denisova Cave lies in southern Siberia, not in North-East India.
- ✗ (d) 'Denisovan' names a human population, not a geological period.
Remember · Denisovans: an archaic early human group, first identified in 2010 from DNA of a finger bone in Denisova Cave, southern Siberia; related to Neanderthals.
Sources
- Reich et al., Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia, Nature 468 (2010) (NIH PMC copy), abstract ↗ “Using DNA extracted from a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, we have sequenced the genome of an archaic hominin to about 1.9-fold coverage. … We designate this hominin population ‘Denisovans’ and suggest that it may have been widespread in Asia during the Late Pleistocene epoch.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·