Newly-Discovered Ancient Skull in China Shocks Scientists

Edited By: Bhavesh B.

Add to Favorites In Favorites

Español

Font Size:

A+ A-

The discovery of an ancient skull belonging to a child who lived up to 300,000 years ago has led scientists to believe they have identified a new species of human. The fossilized remains, which included a jaw, cranium, and leg bones, were found in China, in 2019. For the time being, they've labeled it HLD 6 — HLD stands for Hualongdong, where the skull was discovered.

Baffling scientists, though, is the fact that the person's facial characteristics diverged from the lineage that gave rise to Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans. This has prompted them to examine the possibility of a missing branch in the human ancestor tree

Skull of the ancient hominin from China. ( Journal of Human Evolution, 2023)

Interestingly, experts suggest that this particular species 'did not possess a true chin'. This trait could indicate a greater likeness to the Denisovans, an extinct population of early humans in Asia that diverged from Neanderthals more than 400,000 years ago.

The incredible discovery

The parts identified as the limbs, skull cap, and jaw, thought to have originated from a child aged around 12 or 13, displayed what experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) described as "primitive characteristics." The child's remaining facial features, on the other hand, were strikingly similar to those of modern people.

The skull and jaws of HLD 6. (Journal of Human Evolution, 2023)

The findings have led the research team to theorize that a previously unknown lineage of hominins has been uncovered. This lineage represents a hybrid connection between the branch that gave rise to modern humans and the one that led to Denisovans in the same geographical area. The new discovery indicates the presence of three distinct lineages: the Homo erectus lineage leading to Homo sapiens, the Denisovan lineage, and a third genetically proximate branch in the hominin family tree in Asia.

Family tree of early humans that may have lived in Eurasia more than 50,000 years ago. (Kay Prüfer @ Nature, 2014)

This finding carries extra weight because earlier studies on Neanderthal remains across Europe and western Asia have pointed towards the existence of a fourth distinct lineage of human-like creatures during the Middle to Late Pleistocene period.

This missing group, however, has never been officially identified in the fossil record. The new findings complicate the path to modern humans. The mosaic of physical features found in this ancient hominin instead supports the coexistence of three lineages in Asia – the lineage of H. erectus, the lineage of Denisovan, and this other lineage that is "phylogenetically close" to us.

Homo sapiens first appeared in China some 120,000 years ago. It is possible that the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals emerged in southwest Asia and spread to all continents. More archeological investigation will now be required to confirm that theory.

The new study was published in the Journal of Human Evolution.