Zhang Dongju | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Alma mater | Lanzhou University Shandong University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archeology Paleoanthropology |
| Institutions | Lanzhou University |
Zhang Dongju (Chinese: 张东菊; pinyin: Zhāng Dōngjú) is a Chinese archeologist and an associate professor at the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences of Lanzhou University.[1] 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.