Scientists identified a new species or subspecies of hominid, the Denisovans, based on mitochondrial DNA extracted from a fossilized finger bone found in the Denisova Cave in Siberia. This discovery, made without a full skeleton, was a groundbreaking application of genetic analysis to paleontology. It revealed another distinct branch of the human family tree that had coexisted with Neanderthals and early modern humans.

The Denisovan discovery, based on a tiny fragment of bone, has inspired poets to consider the sheer strangeness and complexity of human prehistory. It demonstrates that the story of humanity is far more intricate than previously thought, with multiple hominid species interacting and interbreeding. This concept of a 'fossil' discovered through genetics rather than morphology has expanded the poetic imagination of our past.