This Is The Face Of "Dragon Man", Modern Humans' Closest Relative [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

PUBLISHED
Yesterday

Homo longi had a head circumference similar to that of a gorilla or a lion.

BEN TAUB
Freelance Writer

Around 150,000 years ago, an enormous, fat-headed human species known as Homo longi (or "Dragon Man&quot roamed the frosty forests of northern China. Despite its grotesque proportions, the ancient hominid has recently been identified as a sister lineage of Homo sapiens, and a new reconstruction of the extinct human’s face reveals what it might have looked like.

Named after the Heilong Jiang River (meaning Black Dragon River) in China’s Harbin province, Homo longi first entered the archaeological record in 1933 when construction workers uncovered an exquisitely preserved skull while building a bridge. It wasn’t until 2021, however, that researchers realized that the cranium belonged to a previously unknown species.

Dated to at least 146,000 years ago, the skull’s owner occupied East Asia at a time when modern humans rubbed shoulders (and other body parts) with several of our close evolutionary relatives, including Neanderthals and Denisovans. Described as being “huge in size” and possessing a number of unique facial features such as square eye sockets, flat and low cheekbones, and enormous teeth, Homo longi would, at first glance, appear to be a somewhat distant relation of its three contemporary hominids.

However, researchers believe that Dragon Man may in fact be more closely related to modern humans than even our most celebrated sisters, the Neanderthals. Until now, though, we’d never had a good look at the face of this chunky sibling of ours.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/this-is-the-face-of-dragon-man-modern-humans-closest-relative-71797

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The Face Of “Dragon Man”, Modern Humans’ Closest Relative
By
Abdul Moeed
November 30, 2023



Homo longi also known as ‘Dragon Man’ Face. Credit: Cicero Moraes / CC BY 4.0

Approximately 150,000 years ago, in the cold woodlands of northern China, there lived a big-headed human species called Homo longi, also known as “Dragon Man.”

Even though this ancient human had an unusual appearance, scientists have recently found out that it’s closely related to modern humans. A new reconstruction of Dragon Man’s face now gives us a glimpse of what this extinct human might have looked like, as reported by IFL Science.

Dragon Man got its name from the Heilong Jiang River, which means Black Dragon River, in China’s Harbin province. This species was first recorded in 1933 when builders digging for a bridge stumbled upon a really well-preserved skull. Back then, they didn’t realize it, but in 2021, researchers figured out that this skull belonged to a completely new human species.

Reconstruction of 146,000 years old Dragon Man’s face
The skull, dating back to at least 146,000 years ago, belonged to someone who lived in East Asia when our ancestors, the modern humans, were coexisting with other closely related beings like Neanderthals and Denisovans.

More:
https://greekreporter.com/2023/11/30/the-face-of-dragon-man-modern-humans-closest-relative/