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| Artist rendition of Homo longi (by Chuang Zhao) |
Paleoanthropological research has been very active over the past several years. New discoveries are being announced regularly, and many are making very large impacts on our understanding of human evolution. One such discovery is also making quite the stir among scholars as they debate the conclusions reached by the initial research team that discovered what they believe is a new hominid species: Homo longi. Today’s blog post will discuss the interesting backstory of this species, its morphological characteristics, and the controversy concerning its placement within the Homo genus.
Homo longi is named after the location of the type specimen that Chinese, Australian, and British scientists studied. The skull, which is also referred to as the Harbin Skull, is believed to have been from the area near Harbin City in the Heilongjiang Province. The name of the province is translated to referencing dragons, so Homo longi is popularly nicknamed the “Dragon Man”. The Harbin skull was originally discovered in 1933 by a Chinese man who hid it for decades. It was during a death bed confession that he revealed that he had the skull, although it is unclear what motivated him to keep it hidden for so long. In 2018 the skull was donated to the Hebei GEO University, where it was ultimately examined.
The international team initially noted that the skull was much larger than various contemporary skulls found throughout Asia. Through a thorough examination they noted various morphological characteristics present in the species that were similar to previously existing hominid species, specifically cranial traits found in Homo erectus and heidelbergensis, as well as some potentially contemporary hominid species, including Homo neanderthalensis and sapiens. Several key features included an extended cranial length, large nasio-occipital length, large supraorbital torus breadth, long and low cranial vault, recession in the fronto-parietal contour, rounded occipital contour, a lack of a sagittal keel, wide upper facial area, square eye orbits, and low lower facial area. What was most fascinating was the brain size, which falls between that of H. neanderthalensis and sapiens. Various dating techniques were completed on the Harbin skull, as well, and it is estimated to be a Middle Pleistocene hominid, having existed between 125,000 to 800,000 years ago.
Ultimately, the international team extended their analysis from the Harbin skull to various other Asian hominid specimens in hopes of learning more about the Harbin skull. Through their research they concluded that they found five additional specimens that closely resembled the Harbin skull. This led them to conclude that these six specimens belonged to a new hominid species: Homo longi. This conclusion, however, is not without criticism. Many within the paleontological community are hesitant to agree, claiming instead that the Harbin skull is a complete Denisovan skull. Thus far only fragmentary remains of Denisovan specimens have been discovered and confirmed through ancient DNA studies. Thus far it is believed that the Harbin skull has not had any DNA extracted, meaning it cannot be confirmed as either a new species or a Denisovan.
Regardless of where the Harbin skull ultimately falls within our human lineage it is clear that there remains so much more to learn about hominid evolution. Furthermore, the renewed attention on Asia is leading to a wealth of new discoveries of hominid specimens. This is enabling further study and an expansion of what we can learn about what it means to be human-culturally and biologically.
Bibliography
George, A. (2021, June 25). 'Dragon man' claimed as new species of ancient human but doubts remain. Retrieved from New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2282223-dragon-man-claimed-as-new-species-of-ancient-human-but-doubts-remain/
Ji, Q., Wu, W., Ji, Y., Li, Q., & Ni, X. (2021). Late Middle Pleistocene Harbin cranium represents a new Homo species. The Innovation.
Sinclair, A. (2021, August 4). Is Homo longi an Extinct Human Species? Retrieved from Sapiens: https://www.sapiens.org/biology/homo-longi/
Timmerman, A., Yun, K.-S., Raia, P., Ruan, J., Mondanaro, A., Zeller, E., . . . Ganopolski, A. (2022). Climate effects on archaic human habitats and species successions. Nature, 495–501.
2 comments:
It never occurred to me how many species would fall under the homo genus. i am confused on what's controversial. Is it simply the placement in the timeline tat is the issue, or is it the region in which it was found that causes the controversy?
Wow, that's fascinating Paleoanthropological research has been super active lately, with new discoveries popping up all the time. One of the recent finds that's causing a lot of buzz is the Homo longi, also known as the "Dragon Man." It's named after the location where the type specimen was found near Harbin City in China. The skull, also called the Harbin Skull, was actually hidden by a Chinese man for decades before being donated to Hebei GEO University in 2018!
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