"I would wager that the integration of the Denisovians with this community's other ancestors happened in mainland Asia, long before their decedents traveled to

"I would wager that the integration of the Denisovians with this community's other ancestors happened in mainland Asia, long before their decedents traveled to the Philippines." Cool idea. Where are you digging? Are you aware of just how convoluted and bloody complicated things get when you look at notions like species in the past? Denisovans do not really have a fixed point in the taxonomy (whatever that really means.) Their existence is inferred from a few teeth and bones - good evidence though. Well let's put it like this: we know far more about Mars than the Denisovans. You use terminology like "decedents traveled to the Philippines." I'll ignore speling but what you really mean is that some genes have been found, not fully formed descendants discovered. Unless you've got some eyewitness grade evidence, you cannot simply decide that someone clung to a log or paddled their canoe or sailed ... etc and lo the Philippines was won. That's simply silly and sounds like a US style "how the West was won" grade phantasy. I'll wager that we will gradually learn a bit more about a group of early humans that we call Denisovans and the link with the Philippines. We already have a genomic link - a group there: Ayta Magbukon has more in common than anyone else. As to how those genes got there is unlikely to be worked out directly.