Denisova Cave is a cave in the Bashelaksky Range of the Altai mountains, Siberian Federal District, Russia. The cave has provided items of great paleoarchaeological and paleontological interest. Bone fragments of the Denisova hominin originate from the cave, including artifacts dated to around 40,000 BP. Remains of a 32,000-year-old prehistoric species of horse have also been found in the cave.
Denisova Cave in 2008
Reconstruction of Altaic cave site, 150.000-10.000 BCE. National Museum of the Altai Republic
Neanderthal distribution.
The interior of the cave, 2008
The Altai Mountains, also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia and Eastern Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the Sayan Mountains in the northeast, and gradually becomes lower in the southeast, where it merges into the high plateau of the Gobi Desert. It spans from about 45° to 52° N and from about 84° to 99° E.
Lake Kucherla in the Altai Mountains
Belukha mountain
Belukha, the highest mountain in Altay
Altay Mountains, Kazakhstan