Discover new hominins that seem to be more closely related to us than Neanderthals

Meet the Dragon Man!

Researchers in Harbin, a city in northeastern China, discovered the remains of a hominin. Not only does it appear to be a species unknown to us until recently, but it also appears that hominins are closely related to us. It can be read in the magazine innovation.

in most
The person has a name in most Received, but is also referred to as Dragonman in the arcade by researchers. So far, researchers have found only a skull from in most He recovered, but it can already tell us a lot about hominins and their place in the long evolutionary history of hominids (humans).

“The Harbin fossil is one of the most complete fossilized human skulls in the world,” researcher Qiang Ji said. “The fossil reveals many morphological details of great importance to our understanding of evolution within the human race and the origin of sane man. “

Primitive and modern features
The skull is very large. He must have a brain that could be the size of our own. At the same time, there are also differences between this skull – which is about 146,000 years old – and the skulls of modern humans. so he did H. long The eye sockets are much larger and roughly square. The arches of the brow – the bones above the eye sockets that the eyebrows rest on – are also much wider. The mouth and teeth are also much stronger. “The skull definitely shows ancient features,” researcher Chris Stringer said. “But some of the details – like the shape of the cheekbones, the face under the brain, and the size and shape of the bones behind the ear, are again reminiscent of our species.”

Encounters
Researchers say the skull gives us more insight into our history and evolution. “The discovery shows that a third human lineage or species evolved in East Asia 146,000 years ago,” Stringer said. “This has been suspected for some time, but other fossils from this area have been less complete or – in our opinion – not analyzed using the best methods.” Now that it has been shown that several lineage lines existed at the same time, the question naturally arises as to whether humans belonging to the different lineage lines also collided with each other. We now know that Neanderthals met and even interbred with modern humans. But what about H. long? “Such as sane man It was already in East Asia very early on, this H. long met,” Stringer thought. “And since we do not know when H. long He disappeared, the meetings might have taken place later.”

family
And if confrontations occur, the mixing of species with each other cannot be ruled out. “If Neanderthals could interbreed with modern humans, I’m sure Harbin humans could also interbreed,” Stringer said. After all, research shows that in most Close sane man It was related. Closer even than a Neanderthal. This means that the last ancestor we met H. longYou lived more recently parts of our last common ancestor with Neanderthals. “Neanderthals are generally believed to be part of an extinct lineage very close to our species. But our discovery indicates that the new line we identified is correct. in most Part of the actual sister group of sane man Researcher Xijun Ni said.

Continue searching
This group may also include fossil remains of previously found hominins, such as Jinniushan Man and Dali Man, both of which have also been found in China. “And I’m sure we’ll find more in the future,” Stringer said. These future discoveries may reveal how H. long It compares exactly with Jinniushan and Dalimens. In the future, be sure to further research the relationship between H. long Denisovans and Siberia. Harbin fossil molars are very similar to the molars of Denisovans. It was previously suspected, based on common traits, that the Ginoshan and Dalemens are also related to Denisovans, possibly even representing East Asian populations of these hominids.

H. longi in its environment. Photo: Chuang Chao.

Questions
For example, the Harbin skull not only provides more insight into our evolutionary history, but it also raises many (new) questions—as a representative of a new lineage close to ours. What is the evolutionary history of this group? Stringer wonders. When and where did these human beings originate and when did they become extinct? And why?” There are also practical questions. The harsh winters in Harbin indicate that humans were adapting to the bitter cold. But how? Did they do this physically, culturally, or both?”

Answers to these and other questions will be sought in Asia in the coming years. Because if research proves anything, we should not ignore this part of the world in the search for our origin. “The research shows how important regions like China – and Asia in general – are to getting a complete picture of modern human evolution.”