Latest news with #ancienthumans
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Scientists SOLVE the mystery of the ‘Dragon Man': Ancient skull is first ever found from lost group of ancient humans that lived 217,000 years ago
It has baffled scientists since it was first discovered back in 2018. But the mystery of the 'Dragon Man' skull has finally been solved - as a new study reveals its true identity. Using DNA samples from plaque on the fossil's teeth, researchers have proven that the Dragon Man belonged to a lost group of ancient humans called the Denisovans. This species emerged around 217,000 years ago and passed on traces of DNA to modern humans before being lost to time. Denisovans were first discovered in 2010 when palaeontologists found a single finger of a girl who lived 66,000 years ago in the Denisova Cave in Siberia. But with only tiny fragments of bones to work with, palaeontologists couldn't learn anything more about our long-lost ancestors. Now, as the first confirmed Denisovan skull, the Dragon Man can provide scientists with an idead of what these ancient humans might have looked like. Dr Bence Viola, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Toronto in Canada who was not involved in the study, told MailOnline: 'This is very exciting. Since their discovery in 2010, we knew that there is this other group of humans out there that our ancestors interacted with, but we had no idea how they looked except for some of their teeth.' Scientists have finally solved the mystery of the 'Dragon Man' skull which belonged to an ancient human who lived 146,000 years ago Scientists have now confirmed that the skull is that of a Denisovan (artist's impression), an ancient species of human which emerged around 217,000 years ago The Dragon Man skull is believed to have been found by a Chinese railway worker in 1933 while the country was under Japanese occupation. Not knowing what the fossilised skull could be but suspecting it might be important, the labourer hid the skull at the bottom of the well near Harbin City. He only revealed its location shortly before his death, and his surviving family found it in 2018 and donated it to the Hebei GEO University. Scientists dubbed the skull 'Homo Longi' or 'Dragon Man' after the Heilongjiang near where it was found, which translates to black dragon river. The researchers knew that this skull didn't belong to either homo sapiens or Neanderthals but couldn't prove which other species it might be part of. In two papers, published in Cell and Science, researchers have now managed to gather enough DNA evidence to prove that Dragon Man was a Denisovan. Lead researcher Dr Qiaomei Fu, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, had previously tried to extract DNA from bones in the skull but had not been successful. To find DNA, Dr Fu had to take tiny samples of the plaque that had built up on Dragon Man's teeth. Previously, the only traces of Denisovans were small fragments of bone like these pieces found in Siberia which meant scientists didn't know what they might have looked like Who is Dragon Man? Dragon Man is the nickname for a skull found near Harbin City, China in 2018. Known officially as the Harbin Cranium, scientists determined that the skull did not belong to any known human ancestor species. Scientists gave it the titled Homo longi, meaning 'Dragon Man' after the Heilongjiang, or black dragon river, near where it was found. Scientists suspected that Dragon Man might have been a member of the Denisovan species of humans but could not confirm this. That was because the bones are so old that most traces of DNA have long since decayed. As plaque builds up it sometimes traps cells from the inside of the mouth, and so there could be traces of DNA left even after 146,000 years. When Dr Fu and her colleagues did manage to extract human DNA from the plaque, it was a match for samples of DNA taken from Denisovan fossils. For the first time, scientists now have a confirmed Denisovan skull which means they can work out what our lost ancestors actually looked like. The Dragon Man's skull has large eye sockets, a heavy brow and an exceptionally large and thick cranium. Scientists believe that Dragon Man, and therefore Denisovans, would have had a brain about seven per cent larger than a modern human. Reconstructions based on the skull show a face with heavy, flat cheeks, a wide mouth, and a large nose. However, the biggest implication of the Dragon Man skull's identification is that we now know Denisovans might have been much larger than modern humans. Dr Viola says: 'It emphasizes what we assumed from the teeth, that these are very large and robust people. This also confirms that Dragon Man was from an older lineage of Denisovans which dates back to the earliest records around 217,000 years ago, rather than from the late Denisovan line which branched off around 50,000 years ago 'Harbin [the Dragon Man skull] is one of, if not the largest human cranium we have anywhere in the fossil record.' However, scientists still have many questions about Denisovans that are yet to be answered. In particular, scientists don't yet know whether Dragon Man reflects the full range of diversity that could have existed within the Denisovan population. Dragon Man was probably a heavily-set, stocky hunter-gatherer built to survive the last Ice Age in northern China but Denisovan bones have been found in environments that weren't nearly as cold. Professor John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, told MailOnline: 'Harbin gives us a strong indication that some of them are large, with large skulls. 'But we have some good reasons to suspect that Denisovans lived across quite a wide geographic range, from Siberia into Indonesia, and they may have been in many different environmental settings. 'I wouldn't be surprised if they are as variable in body size and shape as people living across the same range of geographies today.' THE DENISOVANS EXPLAINED Who were they? The Denisovans are an extinct species of human that appear to have lived in Siberia and even down as far as southeast Asia. The individuals belonged to a genetically distinct group of humans that were distantly related to Neanderthals but even more distantly related to us. Although remains of these mysterious early humans have mostly been discovered at the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in Siberia, DNA analysis has shown the ancient people were widespread across Asia. Scientists were able to analyse DNA from a tooth and from a finger bone excavated in the Denisova cave in southern Siberia. The discovery was described as 'nothing short of sensational.' In 2020, scientists reported Denisovan DNA in the Baishiya Karst Cave in Tibet. This discovery marked the first time Denisovan DNA had been recovered from a location that is outside Denisova Cave. How widespread were they? Researchers are now beginning to find out just how big a part they played in our history. DNA from these early humans has been found in the genomes of modern humans over a wide area of Asia, suggesting they once covered a vast range. They are thought to have been a sister species of the Neanderthals, who lived in western Asia and Europe at around the same time. The two species appear to have separated from a common ancestor around 200,000 years ago, while they split from the modern human Homo sapien lineage around 600,000 years ago. Last year researchers even claimed they could have been the first to reach Australia. Aboriginal people in Australia contain both Neanderthal DNA, as do most humans, and Denisovan DNA. This latter genetic trace is present in Aboriginal people at the present day in much greater quantities than any other people around the world. How advanced were they? Bone and ivory beads found in the Denisova Cave were discovered in the same sediment layers as the Denisovan fossils, leading to suggestions they had sophisticated tools and jewellery. Professor Chris Stringer, an anthropologist at the Natural History Museum in London, said: 'Layer 11 in the cave contained a Denisovan girl's fingerbone near the bottom but worked bone and ivory artefacts higher up, suggesting that the Denisovans could have made the kind of tools normally associated with modern humans. 'However, direct dating work by the Oxford Radiocarbon Unit reported at the ESHE meeting suggests the Denisovan fossil is more than 50,000 years old, while the oldest 'advanced' artefacts are about 45,000 years old, a date which matches the appearance of modern humans elsewhere in Siberia.' Did they breed with other species? Yes. Today, around 5 per cent of the DNA of some Australasians – particularly people from Papua New Guinea – is Denisovans. Now, researchers have found two distinct modern human genomes - one from Oceania and another from East Asia - both have distinct Denisovan ancestry. The genomes are also completely different, suggesting there were at least two separate waves of prehistoric intermingling between 200,000 and 50,000 years ago. Researchers already knew people living today on islands in the South Pacific have Denisovan ancestry.
BBC News
a day ago
- Science
- BBC News
Dragon Man: Ancient skull 'reveals what mysterious Denisovans looked like'
Scientists have linked genetic material extracted from an ancient skull found in China in 2018 to a mysterious group of early skull, nicknamed 'Dragon Man' had fascinated experts because it didn't seem to match any other prehistoric human. Now, an expert study says it has linked genetic material from the fossil with previous bones belonging to an group of prehistoric humans called Denisovans. Read on to find out more about Dragon Man, the Denisovans and how they made the discovery. Who is Dragon Man? The "Dragon Man" or Homo longi was the name given to the early relative whose fossilised skull was first given to experts in China in 2018, after reportedly being first discovered back in skull is thought to be around 146,000 years old and has been identified as a male of around 50 years finding was extra interesting to scientists who said they believed the Dragon Man was closer to modern humans than Neanderthals. Who are the Denisovans? Meanwhile Denisovans were a species of ancient humans, distinct from Neanderthals, another species of ancient are extinct relatives of modern humans who at one point lived alongside homo sapiens (humans like us). Denisovans are believed to have lived in Asia, 285 thousand to 25 thousand years ago. They were first identified from DNA taken from finger bone found in Siberia in then although other Denisovans have been identified, their appearance had remained a mystery. A team from the Institute of Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing worked on linking the Dragon Man fossil to the team failed to retrieve DNA from the skull's tooth and petrous bone, a section at the bottom of the skull which is usually a rich source of DNA in it was the hardened plaque on the teeth known as tartar which gave them results they could on this evidence, Denisovans can finally be would have had strong brow ridges, larger teeth than Neanderthals and modern humans, but brains around the same size. "I really feel that we have cleared up some of the mystery surrounding this population," said Qiaomei Fu, lead author of the new research. "After 15 years, we know the first Denisovan skull."It's hoped that this research could help identify Denisovan bones in other museum collections too.
CTV News
11-06-2025
- Science
- CTV News
6,000-year-old skeletons found in Colombia have unique DNA
Researchers studied the DNA of human remains found in the Eastern Colombian Andes. (Guillermo Legaria/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource) Scientists studying ancient human remains uncovered in Colombia have found that the people they were researching have no known ancestors or modern descendants. In a study published May 30 in the journal Science Advances, a team of researchers reported on the genetic data of 21 individuals whose skeletal remains were found in the Bogotá Altiplano in central Colombia, some of whom lived as long as 6,000 years ago, that belonged to a previously unknown population. Previous studies have proven the existence of two lineages, northern Native American and southern Native American, which developed after people first arrived on the continent across an ice bridge from Siberia and started to move south. The latter split into at least three sub-lineages whose movements have been traced in South America, but scientists have not yet ascertained when the first people would have moved from Central America to South America. The study helps to map the movements of the first settlers, who would have been nomadic hunter-gatherers, study author Andrea Casas Vargas, a researcher at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, told CNN on Wednesday, but it also found that they have unique DNA. Casas Vargas said the team were 'very surprised' to find that the remains did not share DNA with other people in the genetic record. 'We did not expect to find a lineage that had not been reported in other populations,' she said. Casas Vargas underlined that Colombia's position as the entry point to South America makes it significant to our understanding of the population of the Americas. 'This study is very important because it is the first to sequence complete genomes in ancient samples from Colombia,' she said, The results raise questions 'as to where they came from and why they disappeared,' said Casas Vargas. 'We are not certain what happened at that time that caused their disappearance, whether it was due to environmental changes, or if they were replaced by other population groups,' she added. Further research will hopefully provide some answers, said Casas Vargas. 'Our next investigations will look for other archaeological remains from other regions of the country and analyze them at the genetic level and complement this first discovery,' she said. Christina Warinner, a professor of scientific archaeology at Harvard University, told CNN that Colombia 'is a key region for understanding the peopling of South America… but until now it has been a blank spot in ancient DNA studies of the Americas.' 'This study highlights the deep history of population migration and mixing in the formation today's populations, and points to Central America as a key region that influenced the development of complex societies in both North and South America,' she added. By Jack Guy, CNN
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-05-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Scientists Date the Oldest Known Tools Made from Whale Bones to 20,000 Years Ago
Scientists have pinpointed the oldest known evidence of humans making tools from whale bone. The bones, fashioned into narrow projectiles for hunting, had been uncovered in excavations dating back over a century in the Bay of Biscay near Spain and France. Scientists figured the tools were quite ancient, but many were small fragments so it was hard to determine their age. Technological advancements in the past decade have now made it possible to date the oldest of the tools to about 20,000 years ago. Scientists found that the bones came from blue whales, fin whales, sperm whales and other species, The AP news reported. 'Humans and whales have clearly been encountering one another for a long time,' said Vicki Szabo with Western Carolina University, who studies the history of whaling and was not involved with the latest research. Scientists think that ancient humans were crafting whale bone instruments in places including the Arctic and South Pacific. There's been solid evidence of whale bone tools dating back to about 5,000 years ago, but the new research published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications pushes the timeline back. Ancient humans weren't necessarily hunting whales, said study author Jean-Marc Petillon with the French National Centre for Scientific Research. More likely, they were scavenging the bodies of beached whales and fashioning their dense, heavy bones into tools to hunt reindeer or bison. The tools indicate that ancient people in the area took advantage of resources near the sea for survival. They likely also collected seashells and fished. Finding such evidence has been difficult as rising sea levels disrupt coastlines across the globe, scientists said. 'It's one more contribution to the importance of coastal environments for human groups, even in this long past," said Petillon.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Joe Rogan makes wild claim about ancient race of giant humans living on Earth
Joe Rogan, who regularly entertains conspiracy theories and cover-ups, created one of his own when he declared that scientists 'would kill' anyone who tried to prove that giants were real. On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast with TikTok personality Cody Tucker, Rogan brought up the theory that there was once an ancient race of giant humans living on Earth. Rogan and Tucker discussed how civilizations throughout history have had similar stories of enormous people, citing biblical references like the story of David and Goliath. While the two men agreed that there could still be undiscovered races of humans, Rogan was skeptical that the scientific community would allow such a history-changing discovery to be made public. Rogan claimed that researchers who may potentially find giant human remains would be more inclined to say 'people can't handle this' and keep the information a secret. The podcast host added that the thought of hiding the discovery would be 'infuriating' and then made one more bombshell claim about the potential unearthing of giant bones. 'They're gonna kill you, they're gonna kill you. The scientists will kill you. They're gonna run you off the road,' Rogan exclaimed. The 57-year-old noted that there are already conspiracy theories claiming the Smithsonian Museum in Washington is hiding proof giants existed in their basement. Rogan has frequently commented on various government cover-ups he believes to be true. Those include the conspiracy to keep the existence of UFOs and alien life hidden, the secret existence of government surveillance programs, and even a cover-up to hide the government's role in instigating the January 6 riot at the Capitol. Tucker, known for his viral history and pop culture videos, questioned why these giants aren't still alive today. This led Rogan to speculate that giants in the distant past died out after a global cataclysm left them without enough food to survive. 'If you're that big, you need to eat a lot,' Rogan explained. 'They keep finding these additional types of humans,' Rogan added, noting that researchers had recently discovered Denisovans, an extinct group of humans, closely related to Neanderthals, who lived up to 200,000 years ago. Despite citing a number of recent findings, Rogan quickly shot down the idea that scientists would come clean about finding a new race of immense beings. 'Who would put the cap on that?' Rogan asked. 'If they found a 10-foot human with a gigantic sword, would they just say 'we're wrong, giants existed.'' 'They might say people can't handle it. It's not outside the realm of possibility,' Rogan added. Rogan is not alone in his unconfirmed belief that Earth was once home to giant humans in prehistoric times. TikTok theorists claim that giants, many times taller than a normal human, have existed since ancient times, likely helped to build pyramids around the world, and may still be walking among us today. As strange as it sounds, some scientists admit that there might be an element of truth to these claims. Giants, like the current world's tallest man Sultan Kosen who stands at 8 feet 1 inch (236.5cm), are a very real scientific phenomenon. Likewise, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an ancient culture that would have towered over their peers. The genetic traces of these huge people can still be found in the abnormal heights of groups scattered around the world. In a medical sense, giants are real because of a condition called gigantism. Certain diseases can cause abnormal growth, leading to extreme height in some people. People with giantism have existed throughout history right back to ancient times. Some Paleolithic groups also had heights which exceeded that of the modern people who discovered them. Rogan and Tucker also noted that Vikings from Iceland were also enormous compared to the people in nearby lands they raided hundreds of years ago. However, neither of these groups is a separate race from humans nor are their heights outside the bounds of human possibility. Scientists maintain that their height is either a product of a disease or fortunate genetics and good nutrition. Dr Pavel Grasgruber, an expert on the biology of height from Masaryk University, Czechia, told 'The idea that human giants existed in prehistoric times was mainly inspired by the findings of male skeletons in the Grimaldi cave system.' When these caves, located on the Mediterranean coast near the French-Italian border, were first excavated in the late 1880s, scientists were shocked by the size of the human remains they found. Seven of the 'Gravettian' people found there were about 5ft 11in on average but the tallest were up to 6ft 5in in height. 'The standard for male height in Europe was under 170cm! No wonder these people must have seemed like "giants" to the scientists of the time,' Dr Grasgruber said. Thanks to 'the work of people with vivid imaginations', these findings slowly became part of a myth that the world was once populated by giants.
