Homo longi or ‘Dragon Man’ lived about 146,000 years ago (Photo: Publicity)
One fossil Well-preserved human evolution in China could make a big difference to what is known about evolution. Researchers analyzed the nearly complete skull of a new species, called Homo longi, but dubbed “Dragon Man” at the Harbin site.
The skull was found in the 1930s, but it was “hidden” from international researchers and has now been analyzed.
Information about the discovery was published this Friday (25) in the journal “The Innovation” and features three studies coordinated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum in London.
According to scientists, the “Dragon Man” lived about 146,000 years ago and may be the “closest relative” of Homo sapiens, where researchers “steal” Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals). They still do not rule out that the three species can coexist in the same period.
“The Harbin fossil is one of the most complete human skull fossils in the world. This fossil preserves many morphological details that are important for understanding the evolution of the genus Homo and the origins of Homo sapiens,” explained Qiang Li, one of the authors. scientific journal.
Yet the features, at first glance, according to the researchers, are very similar to those of ‘modern men’, but there are some distinct details such as a very wide mouth, large, almost square eye socket and large teeth. It belonged to a male sample. , about 50 years.
This is the second major discovery in evolutionary terms in the last 48 hours. This Thursday (24), Israeli researchers reported the discovery of Neanderthal remains, with species and features of the archaic Homo lineage. This is the first time that such bones have been found outside Europe.
