Scientists found a massive 'dragon man' head that may belong to a new species
Scientists studying human evolution have delivered two breakthrough discoveries in a matter of days. First, it was a team in Israel that analyzed fossilized bone fragments from a skull belonging to what turned out to be a new species of human. Baptized Nesher Ramla Homo, the species roamed the region around modern-day Israel about 130,000 years ago. It’s believed to have cohabitated with Homo sapiens, interbreeding and exchanging information about technology and culture. Nesher Ramla might turn out to be the missing link, a Neanderthal precursor that researchers were looking for.
Separately, scientists from China have studied a massive human head fossil that they believe belongs to an entirely different species, currently named Homo longi or “Dragon man.” Other experts disagree with their Chinese fellows, and they say that it might be premature to designate a new humanoid species.
Found in Harbin, the skull above might also help rewrite human evolution because the Homo longi might have been a group more closely related to modern Homo sapiens than the Neanderthals.
The fossil was first discovered in 1933 by Chinese workers building a bridge over the Songhua River during the Japanese occupation. To prevent it from falling into the hands of their occupiers, the workers wrapped the skull and hid it in a well, The Guardian reports. It resurfaced only in 2018 when the man who hid the skull told his grandson about it on his death bed.
Researchers at the Hebei Geo University in China determined that the Harbin skull was at least 146,000 years old. The skull features a unique combination of primitive and modern features. The face resembles Homo sapiens more closely than the Nesher Ramla Homo, the report notes.
