1930s 'Dragon Man' Finally Gives Elusive Ancient Human Species a Face

1930s 'Dragon Man' Finally Gives Elusive Ancient Human Species a Face

A 146,000-year-old skull known as the 'dragon man', thought to be the sole representative of an ancient human species, actually belongs to a larger group of our extinct relatives, the Denisovans, two new papers claim.

We finally know what the face of a Denisovan looked like

A skull from China has been identified as Denisovan using molecular evidence – so ancient humans once known solely from their DNA finally have a face

Denisovan skull found for first time, a century ago in China

Strange skull discovered in Harbin, northeast China in 1933 was deemed an archaic sapiens and later an unknown species, 'Dragon Man.' Now its true identity is revealed

A ghost lineage comes to life

A ghost lineage comes to life Denisovans are the ghost in our family tree. For scientists, a "ghost lineage" is one that's known mostly from genetic evidence, not fossils; like a ghost, it has a presence we can sense but no physical form we can touch. With the extremely well-preserved Harbin skull identified as a Denisovan, though, we're finally able to look our "ghost" cousins in the face.

Key evidence links Harbin individual’s nearly complete skull to a Denisovan

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters—“What Denisovans looked like, despite their genetic contributions to present-day East Asians and Oceanians?” This is one of the most important questions that has arisen since the discovery of the Denisovans 15 years ago. Now, recent research by a team led by FU Qiaomiei from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology... Read more »