The Denisovans are an extinct group of fossil humans who, along with their sister group the Neanderthals, also share an ancestor with Homo sapiens. Thus far, they are known only from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in Siberia, where they first appear to have entered the stage from perhaps as early as 287,000 years ago (or, conservatively, from around 200,000 years ago). Their latest known presence was quite a bit later – around 55,000 years ago – which indicates the Denisovans called the Altai region their home, at least at certain times, over a period of well over a 100,000 years.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/Denisovan/.