Ancient Skull May Rewrite Human Evolution Timeline

A crushed human skull found in central China more than three decades ago is stirring scientists to rethink the story of our origins.

The fossil, known as Yunxian 2, was excavated in Hubei Province in 1990 but was too distorted to be classified. Using advanced digital reconstruction, researchers have now revealed its original form, dating it to between 940 000 and 1.1 million years ago.

The study concludes that the skull belonged to an early member of a lineage linked to Homo longi, or “Dragon Man”, and the mysterious Denisovans, rather than Homo erectus as had long been assumed. Its features suggest a larger brain capacity and a different facial structure, placing it closer to our own species of Homo erectus.

“This changes a lot of thinking because it suggests that by one million years ago, our ancestors had already split into distinct groups,” said Professor Chris Stringer of London’s Natural History Museum.

If correct, the findings would push back the origins of Homo sapiens by hundreds of thousands of years and hint that East Asia played a pivotal role in human evolution. However, scientists caution that more genetic evidence is needed before rewriting the textbooks.

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