Researchers may have discovered a new species of human. Scientists believe they have found Homo juluensis in present-day China. They are thought to have similarities to the already discovered but mysterious Denisovan humans, especially in jaws and teeth. This leads researchers to think they may be members of the juluensis group. The discovery was made in a study published in the journal Nature.
Scientists believe the growing collection of fossils is helping science improve its understanding of the paleoanthropology of East Asia during the Late Quaternary. This is the era in which Homo juluensis would have roamed the Earth. They stated that the field "is in the midst of a significant and important shift that contributes enormously to the way we view and refine these evolutionary models."
Homo juluensis, who roamed around nearly 300,000 years ago, is believed to have made stone tools and stalked wild horses to hunt.
According to Professor Christopher J. Bae of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's College of Social Sciences, who is a key participant in the research, the breakthrough that will help us better understand Asia's complex evolutionary history involves a new way of organizing the fossil record.
"This study clarifies the fossil record for hominins, which typically includes anything that cannot be easily assigned to Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens," the scientist said.
"Although we started this project a few years ago, we did not expect to be able to propose a new hominin species (human ancestor) and then be able to organize the Asian hominin fossils into different groups. Ultimately, this should help communicate the science," he explained. | BGNES
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