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Spectator
10 hours ago
- Science
- Spectator
We finally know what an ancient species of human looked like
It's said that were you to meet a suited and well-coiffured male Neanderthal on the train, you'd easily mistake him for a fellow commuter. Face-to-face with Dragon man, however, you'd be forgiven for changing carriages. His head has been described as massive and his teeth enormous, and you could prop a book on his brow ridges. His brain was as big as a modern human's – but a different shape. New research links him to a handful of bone fragments dubbed 'Denisovan', an elusive East Asian being. Dragon man has finally put a face on the last of three human species that co-existed for many thousands of years – the others being Neanderthals, and us. Dragon man has finally put a face on the last of three human species that co-existed for many thousands of years – the others being Neanderthals, and us The breakthrough is due to cutting-edge science and two, largely Chinese, teams, analysing DNA and proteins. But like all good fossils, Dragon man has a curious backstory. It begins in 1933, when north-east China was under Japanese occupation. An unnamed labourer, it's said, found a skull when working on a bridge near Harbin City. Perhaps aware of the great interest shown in Peking man, whose fossil remains had only recently been found, he took the traditional Chinese route and hid his treasure down an abandoned well. There it stayed until shortly before his death, when his family learned of it. Word got out, and in 2018 Qiang Ji, professor of palaeontology at Hebei GEO University, persuaded the owners to donate the skull to his institution's geoscience museum. The skull's secret hiding place might have saved it from disappearing into the black market for fossils and antiquities. Whatever really happened, it was exceptionally well preserved and obviously ancient: but almost nothing else was known about it. The immediate questions were: where was it found, and how old was it? With studies comparing its chemistry to geological layers and to other fossils of known age, scientists were able to confirm that it probably had come from the area of the Harbin bridge, where locals have long collected animal fossils thrown up by underwater sand-mining. Uranium isotope dating pointed to an age of at least 146,000 years – contemporary with Neanderthals. At the same time, starting in 2010 with no more than a tooth and a finger bone excavated in a Siberian cave called Denisova, scientists had identified a new type of human. Further finds across East Asia have since included pieces of a rib and two jaws, and a few teeth and undistinguishable scraps. When the Harbin skull was announced, some scientists inevitably wondered if it too might be Denisovan, but there was no evidence to back the idea. One of the teams studying it suggested it could be yet another species, which they named Homo longi – after Long Jiang, or Dragon River. The condition of the Harbin skull is so good, linking it to any known group of early humans would be a great advance. The new studies claim to have proved such a link – with Denisovans. In one study, lead author Qiaomei Fu and colleagues report that they were unable to find any surviving DNA in the skull. They had more luck with calculus (fossil dental plaque) on the skull's one tooth, recovering mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from what they say is Dragon man himself. This most closely matches known Denisovan mtDNA. In the other study, Fu led a different team applying proteomics – analysing ancient proteins, which offer less detail than DNA, but can survive from a greater age. Here again they found a match unique to Denisovans. All three approaches – skull shape, mtDNA and proteins – point to the existence of three human groups existing at this time. The evolutionary relationships between them remains unclear, but they are known to have mated with each other: modern Europeans have a small amount of Neanderthal DNA, and people in South-East Asia, Aboriginal Australia and Pacific islands retain a little DNA from Denisovans. The quest to understand what these three ancient species looked like and how they behaved – early Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans, or what some are now saying we must call Homo longi – is quite literally a journey into our identity. Knowing where the Harbin skull fits in will inspire a rush of new research. Some will dispute the claimed Denisovan matches: they look pretty convincing to me, but it must be admitted that the sciences are entering new ground. On that count, the apparent success of the proteomics and of extracting relevant mtDNA from calculus will spur others to apply the techniques to already known Asian fossils (including skulls), several of which have been suspected as Denisovan. It should also lead to more excavation, the only route to insights into these humans' lives. Dragon man may look scary, but his face at the top of funding proposals could work wonders.
New York Post
20 hours ago
- Science
- New York Post
Fossilized ‘Dragon Man' skull clears up baffling ‘mystery' behind early humans: scientists
A skull, unearthed nearly a century ago, has led to new revelations in the study of human evolution. Known as 'Dragon Man,' the fossil has now been identified as belonging to the Denisovans — a mysterious group of ancient humans whose existence was first revealed through DNA analysis in 2010. The 'Dragon Man' belongs to the Denisovans — a mysterious group of ancient humans. Hebei GEO University Advertisement 'I really feel that we have cleared up some of the mystery surrounding this population,' Qiaomei Fu, a researcher who was a part of the 2010 discovery team and led the new study, told CNN. 'After 15 years, we know the first Denisovan skull.' The findings also provide a glimpse into what the Denisovans may have looked like. Scientists have reconstructed an artist's impression of 'Dragon Man,' showing a robust, blocky face with strong brow ridges, a feature common in other ancient human species. Advertisement With a brain size comparable to both Neanderthals and modern humans, Denisovans would have had a physically powerful appearance, likely adapted to the harsh environments they inhabited. The 'Dragon Man' skull, which dates to 146,000 years ago and was discovered in 1933 by a laborer in Harbin City, China — when it was under Japanese occupation — was long shrouded in mystery. The worker had found the cranium while building a bridge, but rather than handing it over to science, he stashed it at the bottom of a well, where it remained untouched for decades until his death in 2018. His family then donated it to Hebei GEO University, CNN reported. The 'Dragon' Man skull, which was discovered in 1933 by a laborer in Harbin City, China, was long shrouded in mystery. Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Advertisement With the discovery of this nearly complete skull, scientists have finally pieced together a face for the Denisovans, offering new insights into the history of humanity. In 2021, scientists first proposed that the skull might belong to a new species of human, naming it Homo longi, or 'Dragon Man,' which is derived from Heilongjiang, or Black Dragon River, the province where the it was found. The skull's unusual features — such as its massive brow ridges and broad, low face—were unlike those of any previously known human species. However, as exciting as this discovery was, it raised many questions. Advertisement The mystery deepened as researchers struggled to extract DNA from the skull, which had been buried for so long. Despite several attempts, initial efforts to analyze its genetic material proved unsuccessful. It wasn't until scientists turned to a different source — dental plaque — that they found the breakthrough they needed. The DNA pointed to a surprising connection to the Denisovans, an ancient human group that had been identified through a tiny pinky bone found in a Siberian cave over a decade ago. The discovery of this fossil marked the first evidence of Denisovans outside of their original home in Siberia. Until now, no complete Denisovan skull had ever been found, leaving researchers with only small pieces of the puzzle to work with. The 'Dragon Man' skull changes that, providing a much-needed clue to help scientists piece together what these ancient relatives might have looked like. The new research, published in two groundbreaking papers in Cell and Science, not only provided mitochondrial DNA evidence but also revealed protein fragments extracted from the skull that further cemented its Denisovan identity. The analysis of these proteins showed a clear match to known Denisovan traits, confirming the connection beyond doubt. The 'Dragon Man' discovery adds a new layer to our understanding of human evolution, shedding light on a period when multiple human species roamed the Earth. Denisovans, Neanderthals, and early Homo sapiens coexisted and even interbred, leaving behind traces of their DNA in modern humans. In fact, many people today carry small amounts of Denisovan DNA, a legacy of these ancient encounters.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
1930s 'Dragon Man' Finally Gives Elusive Ancient Human Species a Face
A 146,000-year-old skull known as the 'dragon man', thought to be the sole representative of an ancient human species, actually belongs to a larger group of our extinct relatives, the Denisovans, two new papers claim. It's the first skull we have from that group, and it was right under our noses for years. Paleontologist Qiaomei Fu, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, specializes in early modern human settlement in Asia. She led two new studies that reveal the mistaken identity of this skull, using proteins and mitochondrial DNA her team found preserved in the fossil. The 'dragon man' skull was discovered in the 1930s by a construction worker who was erecting a bridge over the Songhua River in Harbin, China, while the region was under Japanese occupation. The province is known as Longjiang, meaning 'dragon river', hence the skull's nickname. The bridge builder kept the specimen to himself, hiding it at the bottom of a well. It was only when his family donated it to Hebei GEO University in 2018 that research on this unique find began. In 2021, the skull was declared a new species of ancient human, Homo longi, but Fu's research rebukes this categorization. That initial description was based on comparative morphology, where paleontologists look at the physical appearance of different fossils to decide where they sit in the family tree. But morphology can mislead: members of the same species often look very different depending on lifestyle and environment. Trying to extract fragile molecular evidence from fossils – especially DNA to compare genetic similarity – is often a destructive and patchy task with no guarantee of payoff, but in this case, Fu and her colleagues had astonishing success. The team was able to retrieve proteins from the skull's petrous bone – one of the densest in the body. They also got hold of mitochondrial DNA (which contains less detail than the DNA stored in a cell nucleus, but is still very useful) from plaque on the dragon man's teeth. Dental plaque is not widely considered a source of DNA, perhaps because it's the result of a biofilm rather than a direct part of the host's body. "The finding that the human DNA of the Harbin specimen is better preserved in the dental calculus than in dense bones, including the petrous bone, suggests that dental calculus may be a valuable source for investigating DNA in Middle Pleistocene hominins," Fu and her team write. These molecules suggest the man is not as unique from other ancient humans as the skull's physical appearance suggests. That's partly because we don't actually have any other complete Denisovan skulls to refer to: until now, they were known only from teeth, one skull fragment, bits of jaw, and a few other body parts. But the dragon man's mitochondrial DNA reveals a species-level relationship to at least five other Denisovan individuals known from fossil remains found in Siberia. And among the amino acid fragments of 95 proteins found within his skull, four were unmistakably Denisovan, and three were direct matches. There are limitations to these sampling methods that leave some room for doubt, but Fu and team's findings are enough to place him among the Denisovans for now. We may have lost a species of ancient human – farewell Homo longi, it was good while it lasted – but it seems we've gained the first ever complete Denisovan skull. Which is pretty wild, given that this missing puzzle piece, a frustrating gap in the paleoanthropologists' catalogue, has actually been in the hands of modern humans for nearly 100 years. As they say, it's always in the last place you look. The research is published in Science and Cell. How Long Would Humans Survive Once The Last Baby Is Born? Humans Have Smoked Meat For Almost 2 Million Years, Study Suggests 'As If Time Froze': France's Deepest Shipwreck Stuns Archaeologists
Economic Times
a day ago
- Science
- Economic Times
Chinese laborer hid mysterious skull for 85 years. Now scientists know who is this ancient 'Dragon Man'
The Skull That Defied Classification A Breakthrough in Ancient DNA Live Events Solving a Human Evolution Puzzle What's in a Name? (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel In 1933, a laborer working on a bridge in Harbin, northeastern China, stumbled upon a large human-like skull. Suspecting its value, he hid it in an abandoned well, where it remained untouched and unknown to science for more than eight decades. It was only shortly before his death in 2018 that he revealed its existence to his family, who later donated it to Hebei GEO University. What researchers have now uncovered is extraordinary: the skull—nicknamed Dragon Man—likely belonged to a Denisovan, a mysterious and extinct group of archaic scientists first analyzed the fossil, they dated it to at least 146,000 years ago and proposed a new species name, Homo longi, in reference to the Black Dragon River (Heilongjiang) region where it was discovered. The skull's unusual features—flat cheekbones, a massive braincase, thick brow ridges, and an oversized tooth—didn't fit neatly into known human species. Some experts speculated it might be Denisovan, a population known only through a few bone fragments and teeth, mostly found in Denisova Cave in confirmation eluded scientists—until Qiaomei Fu, a geneticist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of the scientists who helped first identify Denisovans in 2010, led the recent breakthrough. After years of failed attempts to extract DNA from the skull's bone and tooth, her team turned to a less conventional source: hardened dental plaque. To their surprise, they recovered fragments of mitochondrial DNA from the dental calculus that closely matched the Denisovan findings, published in two landmark studies this week in Cell and Science, also include protein analysis from the skull's petrous bone, which independently confirmed its Denisovan origin.'This is the first time we've linked a full skull to the Denisovans using molecular evidence,' Fu was quoted as saying by CNN. 'It finally puts a face to a name that's been elusive for 15 years.'First identified through a 66,000-year-old pinkie bone in Siberia, Denisovans were a sister group to Neanderthals and shared a common ancestor with modern humans around 600,000 years ago. Though genetic traces of Denisovans have been found in present-day populations in Asia and the Pacific, their physical form remained largely a Harbin skull changes that. Scientists reconstructed its face, revealing a tall male with a broad mouth, wide nose, large teeth, and a brain comparable in size—or slightly larger—than that of modern humans and Neanderthals. Experts believe the skull could represent the most complete Denisovan fossil ever found."This is one of the most significant paleoanthropological discoveries of the year," said Ryan McRae, a paleoanthropologist at the Smithsonian, who was not involved in the research. "It confirms Denisovans weren't just a ghost lineage known from DNA, but a real, robust group of ancient humans."While the discovery confirms a Denisovan identity for the Harbin skull, debate remains over its scientific classification. Some researchers argue that the name Homo longi—proposed in 2021—should now be considered the formal species name for Denisovans, as it's the first Denisovan fossil with a clear morphological like paleoanthropologist John Hawks, believe Denisovans belong within the broader Homo sapiens family, given their ability to interbreed with modern humans and Neanderthals.'Whatever we call them, this is a massive leap forward,' Hawks told the New York Times. 'The mystery of who the Denisovans were is finally beginning to lift.'Looking AheadFu says the discovery is just the beginning. 'Now that we've linked a skull to Denisovans, we can re-examine other mysterious fossils in Asia with fresh eyes,' she goal: to build a clearer picture of what Denisovans looked like across time and geography—and to better understand how their legacy continues in the DNA of people today.
Time of India
a day ago
- Science
- Time of India
Chinese laborer hid mysterious skull for 85 years. Now scientists know who is this ancient 'Dragon Man'
In 1933, a laborer working on a bridge in Harbin, northeastern China, stumbled upon a large human-like skull. Suspecting its value, he hid it in an abandoned well, where it remained untouched and unknown to science for more than eight decades. It was only shortly before his death in 2018 that he revealed its existence to his family, who later donated it to Hebei GEO University. What researchers have now uncovered is extraordinary: the skull—nicknamed Dragon Man—likely belonged to a Denisovan, a mysterious and extinct group of archaic humans. The Skull That Defied Classification When scientists first analyzed the fossil, they dated it to at least 146,000 years ago and proposed a new species name, Homo longi, in reference to the Black Dragon River (Heilongjiang) region where it was discovered. The skull's unusual features—flat cheekbones, a massive braincase, thick brow ridges, and an oversized tooth—didn't fit neatly into known human species. Some experts speculated it might be Denisovan, a population known only through a few bone fragments and teeth, mostly found in Denisova Cave in Siberia. But confirmation eluded scientists—until now. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If You Eat Ginger Everyday for 1 Month This is What Happens Tips and Tricks Undo A Breakthrough in Ancient DNA Dr. Qiaomei Fu, a geneticist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of the scientists who helped first identify Denisovans in 2010, led the recent breakthrough. After years of failed attempts to extract DNA from the skull's bone and tooth, her team turned to a less conventional source: hardened dental plaque. To their surprise, they recovered fragments of mitochondrial DNA from the dental calculus that closely matched the Denisovan genome. The findings, published in two landmark studies this week in Cell and Science, also include protein analysis from the skull's petrous bone, which independently confirmed its Denisovan origin. Live Events 'This is the first time we've linked a full skull to the Denisovans using molecular evidence,' Fu was quoted as saying by CNN. 'It finally puts a face to a name that's been elusive for 15 years.' Solving a Human Evolution Puzzle First identified through a 66,000-year-old pinkie bone in Siberia, Denisovans were a sister group to Neanderthals and shared a common ancestor with modern humans around 600,000 years ago. Though genetic traces of Denisovans have been found in present-day populations in Asia and the Pacific, their physical form remained largely a mystery. The Harbin skull changes that. Scientists reconstructed its face, revealing a tall male with a broad mouth, wide nose, large teeth, and a brain comparable in size—or slightly larger—than that of modern humans and Neanderthals. Experts believe the skull could represent the most complete Denisovan fossil ever found. "This is one of the most significant paleoanthropological discoveries of the year," said Ryan McRae, a paleoanthropologist at the Smithsonian, who was not involved in the research. "It confirms Denisovans weren't just a ghost lineage known from DNA, but a real, robust group of ancient humans." What's in a Name? While the discovery confirms a Denisovan identity for the Harbin skull, debate remains over its scientific classification. Some researchers argue that the name Homo longi—proposed in 2021—should now be considered the formal species name for Denisovans, as it's the first Denisovan fossil with a clear morphological identity. Others, like paleoanthropologist John Hawks, believe Denisovans belong within the broader Homo sapiens family, given their ability to interbreed with modern humans and Neanderthals. 'Whatever we call them, this is a massive leap forward,' Hawks told the New York Times. 'The mystery of who the Denisovans were is finally beginning to lift.' Looking Ahead Fu says the discovery is just the beginning. 'Now that we've linked a skull to Denisovans, we can re-examine other mysterious fossils in Asia with fresh eyes,' she said. Her goal: to build a clearer picture of what Denisovans looked like across time and geography—and to better understand how their legacy continues in the DNA of people today.
