Ancient skull reveals unknown human relative linked to Denisovans
A nearly one-million-year-old skull found in China has been digitally reconstructed, revealing it belonged to an ancient Asian human relative closely linked to Denisovans.
Once thought to be Homo erectus, this fossil now challenges what we thought we knew about our origins.
Yunxian 2 skull connects to Homo longi group
The Yunxian 2 skull stands out with its large braincase and features like a long low forehead and broad mouth roof—traits that connect it to the Homo longi group (which includes Denisovans).
The research was published in Science on September 25, 2025.
Major shift in understanding of human evolution
This discovery suggests the Homo longi lineage split from other humans much earlier than scientists believed.
Researchers now think five major human branches—including us, Neanderthals, Denisovans/Homo longi, Homo heidelbergensis, and Homo erectus—began diverging from each other over a million years ago across Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Fossils can reshape our understanding of human ancestry
The Yunxian 2 find helps clear up confusion about ancient fossils and shows just how complex our evolution really was.
It's a reminder that exploring fossils from all over the world can change what we know about where we come from.