Two chapters, the same questions asked of both
Put two Deep Time chapters next to each other — their evidence base, the dating methods behind them, the live debates, and the questions still open.
Denisovans
A population defined largely by DNA — and what a finger bone can and cannot tell us.
Open full chapter →Hunter Gatherers
Mobility, diet, and the social structures that preceded permanent settlement.
Open full chapter →A handful of physical remains and, unusually, far more genetic than skeletal evidence — including DNA recovered from cave sediment.
Open-air and cave sites, portable and parietal art, burials with grave goods, and the earliest monumental construction.
| Method | What it constrains |
|---|---|
| PalaeogenomicsA finger bone, teeth, and sediment-extracted DNA | Identifies a distinct population and its admixture. It cannot reconstruct anatomy. |
| PalaeoproteomicsCollagen peptide sequences from fragmentary bone | Assigns fragments to a lineage where DNA has degraded. Resolution is coarser than genomics. |
| Population genetic modellingModern genome panels | Estimates admixture timing and proportion within an assumed demographic model. |
| Method | What it constrains |
|---|---|
| Radiocarbon datingCharcoal, bone collagen and plant remains in occupation layers | Dates the material sampled, which may be older than the layer that contains it. |
| Zooarchaeology and archaeobotanyFaunal assemblages and macro-botanical remains | Reconstructs diet and season of occupation. Population size stays an estimate. |
| Isotopic sourcingObsidian, shell and stone traced to geological sources | Demonstrates movement of material, not necessarily movement of people. |
Which Asian fossils are Denisovan?
Several candidate crania are argued for; assignment without molecular data stays provisional.
How many distinct Denisovan populations were there?
Genomic signals suggest deep internal structure rather than one uniform group.
How egalitarian were forager societies?
Rich burials and monumental labour argue against a single uniform model.
What role did foragers play in megafaunal extinctions?
Human predation and rapid climate change overlap in most regions.
- What was their full geographic range?
- Which archaeological assemblages did they make?
- How did high-altitude adaptation pass into modern Tibetan populations?
- How much coastal evidence was lost to postglacial sea-level rise?
- How were monumental projects organised without permanent hierarchy?
- What social structures preceded the first villages?