Dragon Man skull from China confirmed as Denisovan, offering groundbreaking insights into early human evolution and migration.
Skull found during WWII was hidden until 2018, then handed to a university
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Dragon Man, a long-buried skull discovered in China's Harbin, has been found to have its roots in the Denisovans, an elusive ancient human group identified in 2010. It was found by a labourer in the year 2010 and deliberately hidden in the well, and was later recovered in 2018. Its preservation led to the DNA and proteins to provide more insights into the ancient human species link of this skull. It is the most complete fossil of a Denisovan ever found, which dates back to approximately 146,000 years.
The skull was found hidden in a well by the labourer who discovered it during Japanese-occupied bridge construction. It remained there until he died in 2018, and later his family handed it over to Hebei GEO University. The preservation of the cranium led the scientists to analyse its proteins and DNA in the dental plaque, which overcame the previous challenges of extracting the genetic material.
The DNA and proteins were analysed from dental calculus and petrous bone, respectively. Both sources matched the Denisovan specimens from Tibet, Taiwan and Siberia. These coinciding pieces of evidence confirmed that the Dragon Man is from the Denisovan lineage, marking a near-complete skull for this ancient human group.
Through its massive brow ridge, large brain and wide eye sockets, comparable to both modern humans and Neanderthals, Dragon Man has given Denisovans something that was impossible in the past because of the scarce fossil record found. The skull belonged to a robust male geographically adapted to colder climates. This gives an idea of Denisovan presence across the vast swaths of Asia at the time of the Middle Pleistocene.
Through this discovery, the critical gap in knowing human evolution in Asia is now occupied. It also proved that Denisovans were powerful physically and not just a distant lineage. Still some researchers wants to be more prcised in analysing the specific classification of whether Homo longi or broad Denisovan framework.
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