00:00The origin of modern humans remains one of the most complex and debated topics in paleoanthropology.
00:12During the middle to late Pleistocene period, our ancestors shared the planet with multiple other human species across Africa and Eurasia,
00:21creating a fascinating mosaic of human diversity.
00:25These included the Neanderthals in Europe, the Denisovans in Asia, the small-brained but sophisticated Homo naledi in South Africa,
00:33the diminutive hobbits or Homo floresiensis in Indonesia, and the recently discovered Homo luzonensis in the Philippines.
00:41This period represents the last time Earth was home to multiple human species before Homo sapiens became the sole survivor.
00:49The relationships between these groups, who evolved from whom, who interbred and who went extinct, continue to challenge scientists as new discoveries emerge.
01:00Asia, in particular, presents a crucial yet puzzling piece of the story of human origins.
01:05Fossils discovered across Asia, including the Namada, Maba, Dali, Jinyushan, Xuchang, Habin, and Hualongdong specimens,
01:15provide crucial insights into human evolution during the middle to late Pleistocene.
01:21However, poor preservation of these fossils and interpretations influenced by regional continuity theories
01:27have made it difficult to place them accurately in human evolutionary history.
01:31The Namada fossil, discovered in the Namada valley of Madhya Pradesh, India, is considered either a late Homo erectus or an archaic Homo sapiens,
01:41and is an important hominin finds in South Asia.
01:45In China, several key fossil sites have yielded remains with a mosaic of archaic and modern features.
01:51The Maba skull from Guangdong province shows intermediate traits between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens.
01:56The Dali cranium from Shanxi and the Jinyushan fossil from Liaoning both reflect transitional forms,
02:04often attributed to Homo heidelbergensis or early Homo sapiens, dating to approximately 200,000 to 260,000 years ago.
02:13The Xuchang fossils from Henan province display a combination of traits linked to both archaic humans and possible Denisovan lineage,
02:21while the Hualongdong fossils in Anhui province, dating to around 300,000 years ago,
02:28show a unique mix of primitive and modern anatomical features.
02:32Together, these discoveries highlight the complex evolutionary landscape of early humans across Asia
02:37and their importance for understanding the emergence of Homo sapiens.
02:42Among these, the Harbin cranium stands out as the most complete and best preserved.
02:47Because of its unique combination of ancient and modern traits,
02:52scientists have proposed that it belongs to a new human species named Homo longi.
02:57The species name longi comes from the Chinese term longjiang, which means dragon river,
03:03a poetic name for the Heilongjiang province, where the fossil was found.
03:07The skull was discovered near Dongjiang Bridge in Harbin City
03:10and was later donated to the Geoscience Museum at Hebei Geo University in 2018.
03:15The fossil was dated to about 146,000 years old, placing it in the late Middle Pleistocene period.
03:24What makes Homo longi unique is its combination of features.
03:29The skull is massive, larger than those of most known ancient humans.
03:33It has a large brain capacity, 1420 milliliters, similar to modern humans and Neanderthals,
03:41but the shape of the brain case is long and low, not round like ours.
03:47The brow ridges are thick and heavy, the face is wide but flat, and the eye sockets are large and square.
03:54The nose is broad, and the jaw region suggests the presence of large teeth, but without a chin.
04:02When compared to other fossil skulls from Asia and Europe, Homo longi shows clear differences.
04:09It lacks the thick bone structures of Homo erectus, the inflated cheeks of Neanderthals,
04:14and the sharply angled back of the skull seen in Homo heidelbergensis.
04:19It also differs from the Dali and Hualong dong skulls, which have their own distinct features.
04:26Because of this, scientists propose that Dali and Hualong dong belong to a different species,
04:32Homo daliensis, while Harbin represents a completely new one, Homo longi.
04:38Studies of ancient DNA from Middle Pleistocene sites in North Asia and Europe
04:43have proven invaluable in establishing the genetic relationships between early humans and modern populations.
04:50One of the key breakthroughs from this work was the discovery of a previously unknown archaic human population,
04:56the Denisovans, identified through DNA extracted from bones and teeth in Denisova Cave in Siberia.
