Ancient Chinese Skull Discovery Rewrites Human Evolution Timeline: Asian Origins Challenge African Hypothesis

The reconstruction of a crushed skull found in China in 1990 forms the foundation of these groundbreaking findings.

According to a new study released Friday, a digital reconstruction of a million-year-old skull indicates humans may have diverged from our ancient ancestors approximately 400,000 years earlier than previously believed, and in Asia rather than Africa.

Researchers suggest that these findings could potentially resolve the long-debated "Muddle in the Middle" of human evolution, based on the reconstruction of a crushed skull discovered in China in 1990.

The skull, identified as Yunxian 2, was initially thought to belong to Homo erectus, an early human ancestor.

However, using modern reconstruction technologies, researchers discovered features more closely resembling species previously thought to have existed only later in human evolution, including the recently identified Homo longi and our own species, Homo sapiens.

"This changes a lot of thinking," stated Chris Stringer, an anthropologist from the Natural History Museum in London who participated in the research team.

"It suggests that by one million years ago, our ancestors had already split into distinct groups, pointing to a much earlier and more complex human evolutionary split than previously believed," he added.

If accurate, these findings suggest the possible existence of much earlier members of other early hominins, including Neanderthals and our own Homo sapiens lineage.

The study also "muddies the waters" regarding longstanding assumptions that early humans dispersed from Africa, according to Michael Petraglia, director of Griffith University's Australian Research Centre of Human Evolution, who was not involved in the research.

"There's a big change potentially happening here, where east Asia is now playing a very key role in hominin evolution," he told AFP.

Published in the journal Science, the research utilized advanced CT scanning, structure light imaging, and virtual reconstruction techniques to model a complete Yunxian 2 skull.

Scientists partially relied on another similar skull to shape their model, subsequently comparing it to over 100 other specimens.

The resulting model "shows a distinctive combination of traits," according to the study, some resembling Homo erectus, including a projecting lower face.

However, other aspects, such as its apparently larger brain capacity, more closely align with Homo longi and Homo sapiens, the researchers noted.

"Yunxian 2 may help us resolve what's been called the 'Muddle in the Middle,' the confusing array of human fossils from between 1 million and 300,000 years ago," Stringer explained in a press release.

While much about human evolution remains debated, Petraglia described the study's findings as "provocative" though based on solid research.

"It's sound, but I think the jury's still out. I think there will be a lot of questions raised," he commented.

These findings represent just the latest in a series of recent research that has complicated our understanding of human origins.

Homo longi, also known as "Dragon Man," was itself only classified as a new species and close human relative in 2021.

The authors emphasized that their work illustrates the complexity of our shared evolutionary history.

"Fossils like Yunxian 2 show just how much we still have to learn about our origins," concluded Stringer.