The modern inhabitants of the islands that make up the Melanesian region have a truly unique genetic structure, the analysis of which shows that the ancestors of the Melanesians actively interbred not only with the Neanderthals and with the Denisovans, but also with some third mysterious hominids.
Such conclusions of scientists, presented at the congress of the American Society of Human Genetics, which took place yesterday in Vancouver, were published on the pages of the online edition of the Daily Mail.
An unknown species of ancient man, who once lived in Melanesia, could have the most significant influence on the genome of modern Melanesians - scientists say, who insist on conducting new detailed studies in this area.
The extinct hominids are believed to have lived about four and a half hundred thousand years ago. And the very existence of these creatures once again proves the fact that the origin of man has been studied to an extremely insufficient degree.
“Modern humans, we believe, are the result of the interbreeding of many more hominid species than previously thought,” the researchers note.
Kolesnikov Andrey