Scientists have discovered a new human species that went extinct 200,000 years ago in China.
They found the remains of 16 individuals, which had large heads, wide skulls and immense teeth.
Its head measurements, which were larger than those of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, led the team to name a new prehistoric species called Homo juluensis.
The fossilized remains were found alongside thousands of artifacts, stone tools and animal bones that revealed more about their lives, such as that they were hunters who made clothing from animal skins.
Researchers believe the species lived in small groups that likely disappeared when modern humans began migrating to Europe and Asia 120,000 years ago.
Homo juluensis lived during a dramatic climate change that saw a glacial period, which caused the arrival of a colder, drier climate.
Because Homo juluensis lived in small groups, it made them vulnerable to being caught in a raging weather event that may have caused their demise.
“This is part of the reason why the population density of Homo juluensis will probably never be as large as it was when modern humans left Africa… in larger numbers,” Bae told the Post.
“They genetically flooded indigenous populations as neanderthalensis and juluensis.”
Numerous teeth were found at the site, which according to scientists were much larger than those of other human species. The size suggested that they were hunters and ate only meat.
They found the remains of 16 individuals, which had large heads, wide skulls and immense teeth. Its head measurements, which were larger than those of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, led the team to name a new prehistoric species called Homo juluensis.
“The East Asian record is pushing us to recognize how complex human evolution is more generally and is really forcing us to review and rethink our interpretations of various evolutionary models to better match the growing fossil record,” said the co-author of the study, Christopher Bae, at South China Morning Post.
Researchers from the University of Honolulu and the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported that Homo juluensis skulls measured between 103 and 109 cubic inches.
This was compared to the skulls of Neanderthals, which measured 88 cubic inches, and those of Homo sapiens, which measured 82 cubic inches.
However, Bae cautioned that the size disparity does not necessarily mean that ancient species had higher intelligence than modern humans.
The researchers compared the fossils to those of Neanderthals and Denisovans, whose bone fragments were discovered in a cave in southern Siberia in 2008.
Their findings led researchers to believe that they were not connected to Neanderthals, who existed in Europe and Asia until about 40,000 years ago.
However, they noted that the species Homo juluensis shared similarities with Denisovans due to their matching tooth features.
«One of the things that always stood out about Denisova’s molars was that they were quite large. The Xujiayao molars of our type specimen are also quite large,” Bae said.
They noted a comparison of the biting surfaces, where the bottom and top teeth came into contact while chewing and that the surface of the molars was “almost exactly the same.”
Using dating analysis, the researchers argued that Denisova is not its own species, but rather the name of a general population of ancient people, adding that it “probably belongs to Homo juluensis based on their similarities.”
Researchers have linked fossils found in China in the 1970s to a new human species called homo juluensis.
Bae reported that stone tools, artifacts and animal bones indicated that Homo juluensis lived on and processed wild horses at the Xujiayao site where their fossils were found.
They hunted horses in groups and used their entire bodies to sustain themselves, including consuming the meat, marrow and cartilage and using the skins to make clothing to protect them from the brutal winters.
The study, published in the journal NatureHe said the new species likely formed due to a combination of its genetics crossing with Homo sapiens and migrating to new locations during the Late Quaternary period, which began 300,000 years ago.
“Recent research initiatives in China and East Asia in general clearly show that multiple lineages of hominids were present during the late Quaternary,” the study states.
This period was characterized by major changes in climate change that caused recurring glacial periods that drove the extinction of ancient human species.
The study’s authors stated that “diversity among…human fossils from East Asia is greater than we expected.”
They added that their findings have given researchers “a greater appreciation of the degree of complexity present” in the region.