A digitally reconstructed skull discovered in China has scientists questioning long-held beliefs about the timeline of human evolution.
Originally excavated in 1990 from Hubei Province, the fossil, known as Yunxian 2, has now been virtually restored and dated decades later, to between 940,000 and 1.1 million years old. The results, published in the journal Science, suggest it could represent an entirely different branch of the human family tree, separate from Homo erectus.
Million-year-old skull could be Homo longi
The reconstruction, carried out in 2025, revealed facial features that didn’t identically match other known species from that era. While the skull was long assumed to belong to Homo erectus, researchers now believe, following the virtual reconstruction, that it shares more in common with Homo longi, also known as Denisovans.
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Homo longi, nicknamed the “Dragon Man,” was first proposed as a distinct human species in 2021 after a well-preserved skull was found in north-eastern China. Estimated to be at least 146,000 years old, the fossil showed a mix of archaic and modern traits.
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The discovery could push the timeline of evolutionary milestones back thousands of years earlier than previously believed. As the skull was found without any DNA, however, its precise classification remains a matter of debate.
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