We thought we had all the extinct species of humans under control, until the “people with big skulls” came to light.
He homo sapiens It is undoubtedly the human species that has achieved the most through its intelligence, from agriculture to artificial intelligence, through innumerable talents during thousands of years of civilization. We may be the most intelligent human species, but what we do know is that we are not the species with the highest brain capacity.
homo juluensis, Two researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have proposed the existence of a new human species contemporary with Neanderthals (H. neanderthalensis) and sapiensPrimitive. it’s about homo juluensis“The man with the big head.”
These big-headed humans may also have lived with the Denisovans (H.Denisova), a species more closely related to Neanderthals whose remains were first identified in Denisova Cave in the Altai Massif in Russia.
Reclassification of fossils. The new species may also be closely related to this. Furthermore, the authors of the new classification, Christopher J. According to Bei and Xiujie Wu’s interpretation, many fossils hitherto classified as Denisovans should be included in this new group.
The new reclassification, which the authors proposed through an article in the journal nature communicationThis would mean that true Denisovans may be a subgroup of the proposed new human species. However, the team says further investigation will be necessary into possible relationships between these two groups.
300,000 years ago. He H. juluensis It may have emerged at least 300,000 years ago and lived in East Asia until their disappearance around 50,000 years ago, around the same time as Neanderthals. Researchers say that this species was capable of making stone tools, which it could work on the skins of hunted animals. Their prey may have been wild horses that hunted in small groups.
Clearing up confusion. One purpose of the new proposal, according to its authors, is to clarify some confusion regarding human development in its many branches. The task of understanding this evolution is very difficult, given the limitations of the fossil record and one obvious fact: the “family tree” of human classification is very complex, especially in Asia.
“This study clarifies a human fossil record that has a tendency to include anything that was not easily specified homo erectus, homo neanderthalensis Or homo sapiens,Bay said in a press release. “Although we started this project many years ago, we did not expect that we would be able to propose a new species of hominin (human ancestor) and then organize the Asian hominin fossils into different groups. This should ultimately help scientific communication.”
,Provocative.” Bay and Wu’s proposal has raised some controversy. Anthropologist John Hawkes (who was not involved in this work) said it was a “provocative” proposal. in one of his articles blog, expert It was reported that the evidence in favor of the proposed new distinction is limited, although there is reason to engage in debate.
“In my opinion, Bay and his colleagues have a good case for separating the Chinese fossil record from fossils from Africa and western Eurasia over time. Hawkes argues that it is a good idea to focus closely on possible clusters or differences within China’s record.
In Xataka There were other humans before us. And today no one is as mysterious as the Rhodesian man
Image | Bae and Wu (2024)