The discovery of a huge fossilised skull that was wrapped up and hidden in a Chinese well nearly 90 years ago has forced scientists to rewrite the story of human evolution.
Analysis of the remains has revealed a new branch of the human family tree that points to a previously unknown sister group more closely related to modern humans than the Neanderthals.
The extraordinary fossil has been named a new human species, Homo longi or “Dragon man”, by Chinese researchers, although other experts are more cautious about the designation.
“I think this is one of the most important finds of the past 50 years,” said Prof Chris Stringer, research leader at the Natural History Museum in London, who worked on the project. “It’s a wonderfully preserved fossil.”
Dragon Man: A giant?
The skull appears to have a remarkable backstory. According to the researchers, it was originally found in 1933 by Chinese labourers building a bridge over the Songhua River in Harbin, in China’s northernmost province, Heilongjiang, during the Japanese occupation.
To keep the skull from falling into Japanese hands it was wrapped and hidden in an abandoned well, resurfacing only in 2018 after the man who hid it told his grandson about it shortly before he died.
An international team led by Prof Qiang Ji at the Hebei Geo University in China drew on geochemical techniques to narrow down when the skull came to rest in Harbin, dating the bones to at least 146,000 years old. The skull has a unique combination of primitive and more modern features, with the face, in particular, more closely resembling Homo sapiens. One huge molar remains.
The skull, which is 23cm long and more than 15cm wide, is substantially larger than a modern human’s and has ample room, at 1,420ml, for a modern human brain. Beneath the thick brow ridge, the face has large square eye sockets, but is delicate despite its size. “This guy had a huge head,” said Stringer.
The researchers believe the skull belonged to a male, about 50 years old, who would have been an impressive physical specimen. His wide, bulbous nose allowed him to breathe huge volumes of air, indicating a high-energy lifestyle, while sheer size would have helped him withstand the brutally cold winters in the region.
“Homo longi is heavily built, very robust,” said Prof Xijun Ni, a paleoanthropologist at Hebei. “It is hard to estimate the height, but the massive head should match a height higher than the average of modern humans.”
To work out where the Harbin individual fitted into human history, the scientists fed measurements from the fossil and 95 other skulls into software that compiled the most likely family tree. To their surprise, the Harbin skull and a handful of others from China formed a new branch closer to modern humans than Neanderthals.
The Chinese researchers believe the Harbin skull is distinct enough to make it a new species, but Stringer is not convinced. He believes it is similar to another found in Dali county in China in 1978.
“I prefer to call it Homo daliensis, but it’s not a big deal,” he said. “The important thing is the third lineage of later humans that are separate from Neanderthals and separate from Homo sapiens.”
Details are published in three papers in The Innovation. (study 1, study 2, study 3).
“Genetic analysis shows that these species interacted and interbred – our own genetics contain the legacy of many of these ghost species. But what is a sobering thought, is that despite all this diversity, a new version of Homo sapiens emerged from Africa about 60,000 years ago which clearly out-competed, out-bred, and even out-fought these other closely related species, causing their extinction. It is only by painstaking searching and analysis of their fossils, such as the Harbin skull, do we know of their existence.” [Guardian]
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You should really subscribe to QFiles. You will get very interesting information about strange events around the world.
Seriously? According to reference.com “Through collected data and reports, it has been determined that the average human head measures 6-7 inches in width and 8-9 inches in length. The average circumference of the human head is 21-23 inches. There are several factors that determine the exact size of each individual’s head. These uncover some of them.” The measurements you quoted in centimeters for this skull falls only .05 inch larger. given the odd exception to the rule, I’d say it’s a bit of an exaggeration to call this being a giant of Biblical tales. https://www.reference.com/science/average-size-human-head-62364d028e431bf3
People before the deluge lived 6 – 900 yrs – A lot of knowledge can be learned – Throw in the 200 watchers of Mt Hermon one can expect the evil that encompassed the earth from Adam to Methuselah with the offspring of the Nephilim (Rephaim) showing mankind evils of metallurgy weaponry, gene manipulation etc. The Lord says evil was on mankind minds continually and yes, they had technology’s that would blow all our minds!
note;
I personally believe the science points to a much younger earth and universe – Yes, man did walk w/the Dinosaurs (the word dinosaur wasn’t even in existent til the early 1800’s – St Paul of the Bible warned us of these (such as evolution etc) fables – micro, yes, macro NO!
No, I’m not knocking this site – they come up w/some very interesting stuff/info – although, much is left up to interpretation. How could tissue of dino’s survive 65 million years – I have a 1000 questions that debunks Darwin – Repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it w/out thought or question – I too was ignorant of Sa’tans wily cunning ways til I examined the true evidence! – The Lord created us without the understanding of an eternal Being – Those of us that are His will understand this (eternal Being existence) one day as a no brainer!
*There are only two eternal futures, one of them is pure horror! This life here on earth is nothing but a vapor compared to reality – I’m in my 70’s and thank God for opening my eyes – yes, Jesus is the only way – what a horrible price He paid to Redeem all that come to Him for Salvation – There’s more evidence for Christ Jesus than anyone else in His – Story!
shalom
shalom
There’s quite a bit of backstory on darwin and his cult.
I was shocked by the information.
You won’t be fooled by the false messiah. Good on you.
Just the skull? No other body parts? Seems to be just like dinosaurs then. A lore of sorts.
The giants were the “Nephilim,” the children of the fallen angels and human women in the Bible, Genesis 6, and found in the Book of Enoch. Many of these giant skulls and skeletons were found in the U.S. from the 1800’s into the 1900’s (Abraham Lincoln found one in a “native Indian” burial mound). The Smithsonian rounded up every one of them and destroyed them.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Lurch&t=h_&ia=about
Lurch
Maybe the bigger the brows the longer it was alive.
The brow ridge and skull volume seem strange together. ?
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Andre+the+Giant&t=h_&ia=images&iax=images
Andre the Giant vs. Dragon man
Andre would have suplexed Dragon man. Then the piledriver manuever, with a drop kick out of the arena.
No Contest.
http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/m/manmountainmike/01.jpg
Don’t forget Man Mountain Mike.
He could have eaten Dragon Man for breakfast.
Ultimate Warrior,….he was the one. Bid Boy that guy.
Hulk Hogan was a pussy.
@ Pigus:
I watched during the early 60’s. We were kids. They even had mexican midget wrestlers and dwarves, on ch 8. I remember I had a tiny black and white tv. Antenna tv. Couldn’t get any channel without snow. Except ch 8 and 11.
All I remember was wrestling, bullfighting, demolition derby, and roller derby. We knew it was all fake wrestling back then, but it was entertaining.
I haven’t watched tv in years. Last time I went to movie was 1986. I reject all of it.
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
Romans 16:17