The skull of a previously unknown human species has been found: what is its peculiarity

In China, a skull was discovered that probably belonged to a previously unknown species of ancient people. Since its structure is not similar to any of the known species of ancient humans, scientists assume that it belongs to some new branch of the human family tree.

This is stated in a study published in the Journal of Human Evolution. According to ScienceAlert, the remains themselves were found in 2019.

An international team of scientists discovered an ancient human fossil in Hualundong, East Asia. At the time, they discovered a jaw, skull, and leg bones belonging to this yet-to-be classified human, which they labeled HLD 6.

After the discovery of the remains, scientists tried to match them with one of the already known ancient human faces, but it was in vain.

The researchers said that the hominin's face is similar in structure to the face of modern humans, which split off from Homo erectus 750,000 years ago. However, the absence of a chin indicates a connection with Denisovans, an extinct species of ancient man that split off from Neanderthals more than 400,000 years ago.

After years of trying to establish its identity, scientists have finally concluded that they have discovered a completely new lineage. They believe that this hominid was a hybrid between the branch that gave us modern humans and the branch that gave us Denisovans.

This is not the first species of ancient humans from the Pleistocene to be found in China that is not easily fit into any one existing lineage. Previously, such remains were explained as intermediate variations of humans on the path of evolution to modern humanity. Sometimes such hominids were called archaic Homo sapiens or advanced Homo erectus.

But this generalization is often criticized by scientists who consider this interpretation simplistic and controversial.

Earlier studies of the genome of Neanderthal remains in Europe and West Asia found evidence of a fourth line of hominins that lived in the Middle and Late Pleistocene. But scientists had no fossils to prove their existence. Now, scientists hope that these remains discovered in China are the much-needed proof.

The jaw and skull, as determined by the researchers, belong to a child aged 12-13 years. Her face has the features of a modern human, but her limbs, skull and jaw reflect more primitive features.

The researchers believe that the physical features found in this ancient hominin confirm the coexistence of three lineages in Asia - the H. erectus lineage, the Denisovans lineage, and this other lineage.

Scientists note that Homo sapiens appeared in China only about 120,000 years ago, but probably ancient humans had some of our "modern" features even before that. It is possible that the last common ancestor of H. sapiens and Neanderthals appeared in southwest Asia and then spread to all continents. This theory will now need to be confirmed by additional archaeological research.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL reported that scientists showed the face of one of the oldest Homo sapiens, who lived 30 thousand years ago.

Subscribe to OBOZREVATEL' s Telegram and Viberchannels to keep up with the latest developments