An illustration of what Dragon Man may have looked like. - Chuang Zhao
A cache of human-like fossils from China has perplexed scientists for decades, defying explanation or categorization. The skull fragments, teeth, jaws and other remains unearthed at different sites across the country are clearly remnants of archaic hominins — the formal name for species in the human lineage — who lived between 300,000 and 100,000 years ago. But it’s never been clear what species the bones belonged to or where they should sit in an increasingly complex human family tree.
Enter the ‘Dragon Man’
Enter the ‘Dragon Man’ It is part of normal scientific practice to revisit old fossils, said Xijun Ni, a professor at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing. However, while it is plausible the remains studied by Bae and Wu may represent a previously unrecognized type of ancient human, Ni said in his view the coauthors hadn’t yet put forward enough information to officially classify Homo juluensis as a newly discovered species — a process that involves lengthy analysis.
Stringer said his work with Ni suggested that most of the fossils Bae categorized as H. juluensis actually are morphologically a better match with the Harbin cranium. Stringer said his work with Ni suggested that most of the fossils Bae categorized as H. juluensis actually are morphologically a better match with the Harbin cranium. This, Stringer reasoned, suggested in turn that the Xujiayao specimens and Denisovan remains may all belong with Dragon Man, which has been given the formal scientific name "Homo longi".
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