Human Fossils Unlike Any Ever Discovered Challenge Human Evolution
ancient-skull-found-in-china-is-unlike-any-human-seen-before
An international team of scientists has described an ancient human fossil in China unlike any other hominin found before.
It resembles neither the lineage that split to form Neanderthals, nor Denisovans, nor us, suggesting our current version of the human family tree needs another branch.
The jaw, skull, and leg bones belonging to this yet-to-be classified hominin, labeled HLD 6, were discovered in Hualongdong, in East Asia, in 2019. In the years since, experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have struggled to match the remains to a known lineage.
The hominin’s face is similarly structured to that of the modern human lineage, which split from Homo erectus as far back as 750,000 years ago. But the individual’s lack of chin appears more like that of a Denisovan – an extinct species of ancient hominin in Asia that split from Neanderthals more than 400,000 years ago.
Although some scientists equate the term “humans” with all members of the genus Homo, in common usage it generally refers to Homo sapiens, the only extant member. Other members of the genus Homo are known as archaic humans. Anatomically modern humans emerged around 300,000 years ago in Africa, evolving from Homo heidelbergensis or a similar species and migrating out of Africa, gradually replacing or interbreeding with local populations of archaic humans. For most of their history, humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers. Humans began exhibiting behavioral modernity about 160,000–60,000 years ago. The Neolithic Revolution, which began in Southwest Asia around 13,000 years ago (and separately in a few other places), saw the emergence of agriculture and permanent human settlement. As populations became larger and denser, forms of governance developed within and between communities, and a large number of civilizations have risen and fallen. Humans have continued to expand, with a global population of over 8 billion as of 2023.
It is unclear when the line of Neanderthals split from that of modern humans; studies have produced various intervals ranging from 315,000[21] to more than 800,000 years ago.[22] The date of divergence of Neanderthals from their ancestor H. heidelbergensis is also unclear. The oldest potential Neanderthal bones date to 430,000 years ago, but the classification remains uncertain.[23] Neanderthals are known from numerous fossils, especially from after 130,000 years ago.[24] The type specimen, Neanderthal 1, was found in 1856 in the Neander Valley in present-day Germany. For much of the early 20th century, European researchers depicted Neanderthals as primitive, unintelligent, and brutish. Although knowledge and perception of them has markedly changed since then in the scientific community, the image of the unevolved cavemanarchetype remains prevalent in popular culture.[25][26]
The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ( /dɪˈniːsəvə/ di-NEE-sə-və) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic. Denisovans are known from few physical remains; consequently, most of what is known about them comes from DNA evidence. No formal species name has been established pending more complete fossil material.
The first identification of a Denisovan individual occurred in 2010, based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) extracted from a juvenile female finger bone excavated from the Siberian Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in 2008.[1] Nuclear DNA indicates close affinities with Neanderthals. The cave was also periodically inhabited by Neanderthals, but it is unclear whether Neanderthals and Denisovans ever cohabited in the cave. Additional specimens from Denisova Cave were subsequently identified, as was a single specimen from the Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau, and Cobra Cave in the Annamite Mountains of Laos. DNA evidence suggests they had dark skin, eyes, and hair, and had a Neanderthal-like build and facial features. However, they had larger molars which are reminiscent of Middle to Late Pleistocene archaic humans and australopithecines.
Denisovans apparently interbred with modern humans, with a high percentage (roughly 5%) occurring in Melanesians, Aboriginal Australians, and Filipino Negritos. This distribution suggests that there were Denisovan populations across Asia, the Philippines, and New Guinea and/or Australia. Introgression into modern humans may have occurred as recently as 30,000 years ago in New Guinea, which, if correct, might indicate this population persisted as late as 14,500 years ago. There is also evidence of interbreeding with the Altai Neanderthal population, with about 17% of the Denisovan genome from Denisova Cave deriving from them. A first-generation hybrid nicknamed “Denny” was discovered with a Denisovan father and a Neanderthal mother. Additionally, 4% of the Denisovan genome comes from an unknown archaic human species which diverged from modern humans over one million years ago.
Homo floresiensis ( /flɔːrˈɛziːˌɛn.sɪs/ also known as “Flores Man“) is an extinct species of small archaic human that inhabited the island of Flores, Indonesia, until the arrival of modern humans about 50,000 years ago.
The remains of an individual who would have stood about 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) in height were discovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave. Partial skeletons of at least nine individuals have been recovered, including one complete skull, referred to as “LB1”.[2][3]
This hominin was at first considered remarkable for its survival until relatively recent times, initially thought to be only 12,000 years ago.[4] However, more extensive stratigraphic and chronological work has pushed the dating of the most recent evidence of its existence back to 50,000 years ago.[5][6][7] The Homo floresiensis skeletal material is now dated from 60,000 to 100,000 years ago; stone tools recovered alongside the skeletal remains were from archaeological horizons ranging from 50,000 to 190,000 years ago.[1]
Homo erectus (/ˌhoʊmoʊ əˈrɛktəs/; meaning “upright man”) is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago.[2] Its specimens are among the first recognizable members of the genus Homo.
Several human species, such as H. heidelbergensis and H. antecessor, appear to have evolved from H. erectus, and Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans are in turn generally considered to have evolved from H. heidelbergensis.[3] H. erectus was the first human ancestor to spread throughout Eurasia, with a continental range extending from the Iberian Peninsula to Java. Asian populations of H. erectus may be ancestral to H. floresiensis[4] and possibly to H. luzonensis.[5] The last known population of H. erectus is H. e. soloensis from Java, around 117,000–108,000 years ago.[1]
H. erectus had a more modern gait and body proportions, and was the first human species to have exhibited a flat face, prominent nose, and possibly sparse body hair coverage. Though the species’ brain size certainly exceeds that of ancestor species, capacity varied widely depending on the population. In earlier populations, brain development seemed to cease early in childhood, suggesting that offspring were largely self-sufficient at birth, thus limiting cognitive development through life. H. erectus was an apex predator;[6] sites generally show consumption of medium to large animals, such as bovines or elephants, and suggest the development of predatory behavior and coordinated hunting. H. erectus is associated with the Acheulean stone tool industry, and is postulated to have been the earliest human ancestor capable of using fire,[7] hunting and gathering in coordinated groups, caring for injured or sick group members, and possibly seafaring and art (though examples of art are controversial, and are otherwise rudimentary and few and far between).
H. erectus males and females may have been roughly the same size as each other (i.e. exhibited reduced sexual dimorphism), which could indicate monogamy in line with general trends exhibited in primates. Size, nonetheless, ranged widely from 146–185 cm (4 ft 9 in – 6 ft 1 in) in height and 40–68 kg (88–150 lb) in weight. It is unclear if H. erectus was anatomically capable of speech, though it is postulated they communicated using some proto-language.
Herto Man refers to the 154,000 – 160,000-year-old human remains (Homo sapiens) discovered in 1997 from the Upper Herto member of the Bouri Formation in the Afar Triangle, Ethiopia. The discovery of Herto Man was especially significant at the time, as it fell within a long gap in the fossil record between 300 and 100 thousand years ago, and at its description in 2003, it represented the oldest dated H. sapiens remains. In the original description paper, these 12 (at minimum) individuals were described as falling just outside the umbrella of “anatomically modern human”. Thus, Herto Man was classified into a new subspecies as “H. s. idaltu” (Afar: Idaltu “elder”). It supposedly represented a transitional morph between the more archaic “H. (s.?) rhodesiensis and H. s. sapiens (that is, a stage in a chronospecies). Subsequent researchers have rejected this classification. The validity of such subspecies is difficult to justify because of the vague definitions of “species” and “subspecies”, especially when discussing a chronospecies, as the exact end-morphology and start-morphology of the ancestor and descendant species are inherently unresolvable.
Herto Man produced many stone tools which can fit into the vaguely defined “Transitional Acheulean“, the long-lasting cultural tradition with both characteristically Acheulean (made by archaic humans) and Middle Stone Age (made by modern humans) tools. They seem to have been butchering mainly hippo, but also bovines, in a lakeside environment. The three most complete skulls (one a 6- to 7-year-old child) bear manmade cut marks and other alterations, which could be evidence of mortuary practices like excarnation.
Homo naledi is an extinct hominin species discovered in 2013 in the Rising Star Cave, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa dating to the Middle Pleistocene 335,000–236,000 years ago. The initial discovery comprises 1,550 specimens of bone, representing 737 different skeletal elements, and at least 15 different individuals. Despite this exceptionally high number of specimens, their classification with other Homo species remains unclear.
Along with similarities to contemporary Homo, they share several characteristics with the ancestral Australopithecus as well as early Homo (mosaic evolution), most notably a small cranial capacity of 465–610 cm3 (28.4–37.2 cu in), compared with 1,270–1,330 cm3 (78–81 cu in) in modern humans. They are estimated to have averaged 143.6 cm (4 ft 9 in) in height and 39.7 kg (88 lb) in weight, yielding a small encephalization quotient of 4.5. H. naledi brain anatomy seems to have been similar to contemporary Homo, which could indicate comparable cognitive complexity. The persistence of small-brained humans for so long in the midst of bigger-brained contemporaries revises the previous conception that a larger brain would necessarily lead to an evolutionary advantage, and their mosaic anatomy greatly expands the known range of variation for the genus.
H. naledi anatomy indicates that, though they were capable of long-distance travel with a humanlike stride and gait, they were more arboreal than other Homo, better adapted to climbing and suspensory behaviour in trees than endurance running. Tooth anatomy suggests consumption of gritty foods covered in particulates such as dust or dirt. Though they have not been associated with stone tools or any indication of material culture, they appear to have been dextrous enough to produce and handle tools, and therefore may have manufactured Early or Middle Stone Age industries since no other human species in the vicinity at that time has been discovered. It has also been controversially postulated that these individuals were given funerary rites, and were carried into and placed in the chamber.
well you made it this far
a long tree
but here is something else to add
The Nesher Ramla Homo group are an extinct population of archaic humans who lived during the Middle Pleistocene in what is now modern-day Israel. In 2010, evidence of a tool industry had been discovered during a year of archaeological excavations at the Nesher Ramla [de; he] site. In 2021, the first Nesher Ramla Homo individual was identified from remains discovered during further excavations.
Taxonomy[edit]
Locations of the Nesher Ramla remains, alongside locations of previously discovered human fossils that a team led by Zaidner in 2021 hypothesised as representing the same group [1]
The Nesher Ramla site was discovered in a karst depression following quarrying from a nearby cement factory. The site was excavated by archaeologists between 2010–2011 and yielded artefacts in archaeological deposits from the Middle Paleolithic that were reported by D. Friesem, Y. Zaidner, and R. Shahack-Gross.[2] Evidence of a lithic industry was found during the excavation. The artefacts from the site contained Levallois tools and lithic cores.[3]
Later excavations led by anthropologist Israel Hershkovitz in 2021 led to the discovery of five pieces of a braincase and a nearly-complete lower jaw. The remains were dated to 140–120 kya, during the Middle Pleistocene.
Hershkovitz speculated that the specimen might be categorised as among the last survivors of a population that would contribute to the Neanderthals and East Asian Homo.[4] Philip Rightmire of Harvard University did not agree with the findings, believing instead that properly, the skull should be categorised as among early Neanderthals. Rightmire also discussed the possibility of a Neanderthal population having migrated to the area from Europe.[5] Yoel Rak of Tel Aviv University stated that the mandible bore characteristics typical of a Neanderthal, and that the specimen itself should be classified as a Neanderthal.[6]
we have a long history
observations of science changes all the time
as different data changes the output of experiments
this was just the history of mankind
still waiting to see if some scientist attempts to use evolution to evolve modern humans from primordial DNA
Da Lazy Scholar 
