A 300,000-year-old skull fossil found in China turns out to be an evolutionary mystery.specimen Dating to late Middle Pleistocene It bears no resemblance to other skulls found from this period, and may represent a previously unknown species of hominin. It was discovered that Posted late last month Journal of Human Evolution.
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A team of scientists from research institutes in Spain, England and China haslower jaw – or lower jaw –The mandible in question, dubbed HLD 6, dates to a critical period in human evolution, just before some organisms were born. Characteristics still seen in modern people Evolved in East Asia.
of study He pointed out that HLD 6 is ‘unexpected’ because it does not fit into any currently known taxon. The skull has facial features similar to those of early modern humans. This skull could potentially belong to a direct ancestor of humans called Homo erectus 550,000 to 750,000 years ago.
However, it also shares some traits with the Denisovans, who belong to a different branch of the human family tree. Homo erectus. HLD 6 appears to lack jaws, similar to previously discovered Denisovan specimens. The Denisovans are now extinct, splitting from the Neanderthals about 400,000 years ago.
Suppose a sample contains the following mixture: Homo erectus And the characteristics of the Denisovans, they believe that this was Potentially a hybrid of modern and ancient humans. The team notes that such a combination of facial features has not been observed in East Asian hominids, which some of the features seen in modern humans began to appear 300,000 years ago. It suggests that
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They believe the fossils belong to children aged 12-13. The researchers did not have an adult skull from the same species to compare against, but used middle- and late-Pleistocene hominin skulls of similar adult age. They found that: Shape patterns did not change regardless of agewhich they say supports the theory that this could be another human race.
The history of the human family tree is constantly changing as scientists develop better techniques for finding and analyzing specimens. A study published in June suggests that humans entered the forests of Asia about 400,000 years earlier than previously believed. It is also possible that humans and Neanderthals interbred earlier in three separate waves, ultimately leading to the extinction of Neanderthals.
If this new theory proves correct, the new theory “Presapiens specimen” branch Added to this complex family tree, it could provide further insight into human evolution.
