The attribution of these sophisticated objects — whether to Denisovans specifically, to Neanderthals, or to early modern humans passing through the region — has been debated since their discovery.

The dating of the layers in which they appear is complex, and the possibility of vertical movement of objects through the cave’s stratigraphy adds uncertainty.

But if these objects were made by Denisovans — and some researchers believe they were — then the Denisovans were producing behavioral expressions as sophisticated as anything in the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition elsewhere in the world.

Denny’s world — whatever specific layer and period she inhabited — was one in which the occupants of this cave were making tools and possibly symbolic objects of considerable sophistication.