The findings were surprising to the team. Previous studies suggested that a relatively simple, one-off mixing event had occurred between Australasians and Denisovans, but these new findings imply multiple mixing events have occurred across different locations and timepoints. “In [ISEA], Philippine Negritos later admixed with East Asian migrants who possess little Denisovan ancestry, which subsequently diluted their archaic ancestry. Some groups, though, such as the Ayta Magbukon, minimally admixed with the more recent incoming migrants. For this reason, the Ayta Magbukon retained most of their inherited archaic tracts and were left with the highest level of Denisovan ancestry in the world,” the authors explain in the publication.
Read the article here: Ethnic Group in the Philippines Have Highest Level of Denisovan DNA in the World
