Human beings have come a long way from evolution and were unique as homo sapiens. As such, a newly discovered skull challenges that belief of earlier homo species with an interesting lack of chins.
Ancient Skull Discovered
According to Mail Online, scientists believed that they had stumbled upon what could be a new human species due to the discovery of an unusual skull. The skull was said to belong to a child from up to 300,000 years ago.
The fossil was discovered in 2019 in Hualongdong, China, and included the jaw, skull, and leg bones of what was believed to be a child. Upon examination of its facial features, experts discovered how different it was compared to Neanderthals, Denisovans, or modern humans.
This led the scientists to suspect that there could be another human family tree branch that could've existed. Researchers pointed out the most noticeable difference, the skull didn't have a "true chin."
Per the National History Museum, Neanderthals were close to humans but were still considered a distinct species. While modern humans belong to homo sapiens, Neanderthals belong to the homo neanderthalensis species.
As noted by the Australian Museum, the Denisovans were the first ancient hominin species that scientists were able to discover through the help of genes and not fossil classification. The recently discovered skull was said to be closer to the Denisovan.
Species of the Skull
Mail Online describes the Denisovans as an extinct ancient human species in Asia; and around over 400,000 years ago, they split from Neanderthals. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) experts said that the fossils likely belonged to a child who was around 12 to 13 years old.
The researchers described the findings to "reflect more primitive traits"; but despite that, the facial features of the child had a closer resemblance to modern humans. This led researchers to conclude that they were a new type of hominin lineage.
This lineage could be a hybrid between the branch that gave modern humans and Denisovans. As such, this meant that the lineage of modern humans, the homo erectus, was followed by the Denisovan lineage and a third hominin family tree via the link provided by the skull.
Mail Online describes the third link to be "phylogenetically close" to modern humans. This was also particularly interesting due to where the remains were found.
Previous Discoveries of Homo Species
Other significant discoveries in the past involving Neanderthal remains in western Asia and Europe. The new evidence reveals a fourth lineage of humans that were alive during the middle to late Pleistocene.
However, the fossil record has not yet officially identified this missing group. As such, homo sapiens in China only appeared about 120,000 years ago, but the new findings provide more clarity to earlier discoveries in this region.
The new research shows how modern-day features in the region of East Asia existed longer than initially believed.
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