Zhang Dongju Explained

Zhang Dongju
Nationality:Chinese
Fields:Archeology
Paleoanthropology
Workplaces:Lanzhou University
Alma Mater:Lanzhou University
Shandong University

Zhang Dongju is a Chinese archeologist and an associate professor at the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences of Lanzhou University. Zhang's research determined that the Xiahe mandible found in the Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau shared DNA with fossilized remains found in the Denisova Cave in Siberia. This moved to 120,000 years earlier the dates of earliest proven hominin activities in the Tibetan Plateau, and revealed for the first time that the Denisovan hominins had spread throughout Asia rather than being located only near the Denisova Cave. Zhang's work is considered likely to prompt reconsideration of other fossil remains using ancient protein analysis. Discover, Science News, and Nova all named the discovery to their lists of top science stories of 2019.

Education

Zhang studied at Shandong University from 2000 to 2004 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in archeology. From September 2004, she pursued graduate studies at Lanzhou University,[1] where she joined the group of climatologist Chen Fahu. Zhang's main research focus was on the Paleolithic sites of the Loess Plateau.[2] She was a visiting scholar in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles in the United States from January 2008 to September 2009, and then at Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Germany from October 2009 to March 2010. She earned her Ph.D. in physical geography from Lanzhou University in December 2010.

Research

After earning her Ph.D., Zhang joined the faculty of environmental archeology at Lanzhou University. Zhang changed her research direction from the Loess Plateau to the Tibetan Plateau and began to study the Xiahe mandible, together with her former advisor Chen Fahu.[3] The Xiahe mandible is a fossilized jawbone found in 1980 by a monk in the Baishiya Karst Cave, which is located in Xiahe County on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, from the Denisova Cave where the only other known Denisovan remains have been found. It was donated to Lanzhou University. According to Zhang, the mandible was so "weird" that Lanzhou researchers could not classify it, and it was overlooked for thirty years.[4]

Zhang investigated the original discovery of the mandible by interviewing local people in Xiahe. They confirmed human bones were found in the cave. When asked in 2019 whether it was possible the story was false, Zhang said, "I don't think the local people would lie about this."[5] Because the provenance is uncertain, the research team in 2019 acknowledged they could not prove the fossil came from the Baishaya cave. But they were able to match minerals on the Xiahe mandible to mineral deposits in the cave.[6]

The mandible contained no productive DNA, but in the dentine of the teeth they found collagen proteins.[7] In 2016 Zhang and colleagues started working with Jean-Jacques Hublin of the Max Planck Institute to use ancient protein analysis.[8] [9]

In 2016 local villagers and Buddhists gave Zhang permission to start archeological work within the cave, which is a Buddhist sanctuary. With local permission she led a team[10] to begin excavation in and around the cave in 2018. The team dug two trenches in which they found animal bones with cut marks and a large number of stone tools. In 2019 Zhang told Science, "We do hope we'll find more Denisovans."

Importance and impact

Denisovan DNA is found in modern humans across Asia and Australasia, but Zhang's work connecting the Xiahe mandible to the Denisovans is the first evidence that Denisovans lived anywhere but in the Denisova Cave area.[11] [12] [13] [14] It is also the first evidence they lived at high altitudes, as the Denisova Cave is only 2300abbr=offNaNabbr=off above sea level. The Baishiya cave is 10760abbr=offNaNabbr=off above sea level. Denisovan DNA, specifically the EPAS1 allele, has been considered to be what allows Sherpas and Tibetans to live at high altitudes in low-oxygen environments. The Xiahe mandible is considered likely to be the oldest hominin fossil on the Tibetan Plateau. Zhang told The Paper "this study will push the history of prehistoric human activities on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from 40,000 years ago to 160,000 years ago."[15]

Zhang's classification of the Xiahe mandible as Denisovan is likely to cause scientists to reconsider the classification of other remains using the methods Zhang and her colleagues used.

Discover, Science News and Nova all named the discovery in their lists of Top Science Stories of 2019.[16] [17] [18]

Publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: http://geoscience.lzu.edu.cn/lzupage/2018/03/04/N20180304154258.html. zh:张东菊 . 4 March 2018. Lanzhou University. https://web.archive.org/web/20190503000256/http://geoscience.lzu.edu.cn/lzupage/2018/03/04/N20180304154258.html. 3 May 2019. live. 2 May 2019 . zh .
  2. Web site: http://www.sohu.com/a/311511521_161795. zh:这块骨头来自一个神秘人种，证明16万年前古人类已登上青藏高原. Wu. Bin. 2 May 2019. Sohu. 2 May 2019. zh.
  3. Web site: A Revealing Piece of Ancient Human History, Discovered in a Tibetan Cave: The remarkable, fossilized jawbone has no chin, and the teeth within it are exceptionally large.. Yong. Ed. Ed Yong. The Atlantic. 1 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190501190839/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/05/denisovan-jawbone-roof-world/588442/. 1 May 2019. live. May 2019.
  4. Web site: First fossil jaw of Denisovans finally puts a face on elusive human relatives . Gibbons . Ann . . 2 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190501212811/https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/05/first-fossil-jaw-denisovans-finally-puts-face-elusive-human-relatives . 1 May 2019 . live.
  5. Web site: Dvorsky . George . George Dvorsky . Astonishing Denisovan Fossil Discovery Traced Back to Buddhist Monk . . 2 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190501224251/https://gizmodo.com/astonishing-denisovan-fossil-discovery-traced-back-to-u-1834450460 . 1 May 2019 . live .
  6. Web site: Hotz . Robert Lee . Fossil Points to a Vanished Human Species in Himalayas . . 2 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190501235942/https://www.wsj.com/articles/ancient-humans-dwelled-at-great-heights-scientists-find-11556730001 . 1 May 2019 . live .
  7. Biggest Denisovan fossil yet spills ancient human's secrets . Warren . Matthew . 1 May 2019 . . 569 . 7754 . 16–17 . en . 10.1038/d41586-019-01395-0 . 31043736 . 2019Natur.569...16W . free .
  8. Web site: Hublin . Jean-Jacques . Jean-Jacques Hublin . How We Found an Elusive Hominin in China . Sapiens . 2 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190502002153/https://www.sapiens.org/evolution/xiahe-jaw-denisovan/ . 2 May 2019 . live .
  9. Web site: First hominins on the Tibetan Plateau were Denisovans: Denisovan mandible likely represents the earliest hominin fossil on the Tibetan Plateau . . 2 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190501222237/https://www.mpg.de/13386452/0425-evan-019609-first-hominins-on-the-tibetan-plateau-were-denisovans . 1 May 2019 . live .
  10. Web site: Images . . 2 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190502171505/https://www.eva.mpg.de/press/news/2019-05-01-101405-first-hominins-on-the-tibetan-plateau-were-denisovans.html . 2 May 2019 . live .
  11. Web site: Wei-Haas . Maya . Mysterious ancient human found on the 'roof of the world': A fossil jaw shatters records for the earliest inhabitants of the Tibetan Plateau—and gives new insights into the enigmatic Denisovans. . . 1 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190501190114/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/05/mysterious-ancient-human-denisovan-found-roof-world/ . 1 May 2019 . dead .
  12. Web site: Joyce . Christopher . Denisovans, A Mysterious Form Of Ancient Humans, Are Traced to Tibet . . 1 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190501184913/https://www.npr.org/2019/05/01/718729011/denisovans-a-mysterious-form-of-ancient-humans-are-traced-to-tibet . 1 May 2019 . live .
  13. Web site: Zimmer . Carl . Carl Zimmer . Denisovan Jawbone Discovered in a Cave in Tibet . . 1 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190501171610/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/science/denisovans-tibet-jawbone-dna.html . 1 May 2019 . live .
  14. Web site: Guarino . Ben . Jaw from a mysterious human species shows early embrace of the high life . . 1 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190501182628/https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/05/01/jaw-mysterious-human-species-shows-early-embrace-high-life/ . 1 May 2019 . live .
  15. Web site: https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_3386614 . zh:中国学者领衔发现夏河丹尼索瓦人：16万年前登上青藏高原 . He . Liping . 2 May 2019 . The Paper . 4 May 2019 . zh.
  16. Web site: Denisovan Research Reveals That Early Humans Were More Complex Than We Thought. Scharping. Nathaniel. 31 December 2019. Discover Magazine. en. 2020-02-25.
  17. Web site: Top 10 stories of 2019: A black hole picture, measles outbreaks, climate protests and more. 2019-12-16. Science News. en-US. 2020-02-25.
  18. Web site: The top 10 science stories of 2019. www.pbs.org. en-US. 2020-02-25.

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