They are a mysterious relative of the Neanderthals who are thought to have roamed the plains of Siberia and east Asia long before modern humans arrived on the continent. They are now thought to have inhabited Eastern Eurasia from around 400,000 years down to around 40,000 years ago (and arguably much later stil).
During their final years the Denisovans achieved an advanced level of human behaviour, including the creation of sophisticated symbolic or non-functional objects including an arm bracelet in bottle-green chloritolite with a bored hole that can only have been made using a high-speed drill; a bone needle with an eye for thread, suggesting the manufacture of tailored clothing.
