So, these guys existed at the same time that Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons and Denisovans did? If that's so, and they are an offshoot of homo erectus, did they outlast the rest of the homo erectus population? Also, I'm a bit confused about the real difference between Denisovans and Cro-Magnons, would you mind explaining?
Yes, that is correct. They outlasted both Neanderthals and Denisovans, although it is highly unlikely they ever came into contact with either. If they are an offshoot of a Homo erectus population, then yes they outlasted them by a good 100-150 thousand years. Cro-Magnon is never a term I use. To me, it is an antiquated and Eurocentric term to describe modern humans in Europe that first expressed themselves with abstract art, etc. On the other hand there is little know of Denisovans other than what we have learned from them genetically. It seems likely that they were an offshoot of Homo heidelbergensis (just like Neanderthals). They could (and did) interbreed with both Neanderthals and modern humans. Today, their genome is most highly expressed in Australasian populations. These populations are the descendants of the first modern humans to leave Africa.So, these guys existed at the same time that Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons and Denisovans did?
did they outlast the rest of the homo erectus population?
I'm a bit confused about the real difference between Denisovans and Cro-Magnons, would you mind explaining?
Ah ok. Thanks for clearing that up. So, my understanding of the usage of Cro-Magnon was to draw a line between early examples of homo sapiens and what are termed "modern humans." I hadn't considered the Eurocentric aspect of the term. Is there a preferred term for ancient homo sapiens?
Species definition are always tricky and really approximations of natural reality. Some have classified modern human remains from 160,000 years ago as a subspecies of modern humans: Homo sapiens idaltu. EDIT: I'm going to write a post about this soon, but we really know nothing about modern humans between 100,000-200,000 years ago. This is half of modern human existence. We just have (essentially) no data.