For decades, archaeologists have unearthed enigmatic hominin fossils through East and Southeast Asia. They clearly did not belong to our own species, Homo sapiensThey have not propelled themselves perfectly in the other well -established species of this time, there are about 300,000 to 50,000 years. But if they were not members of Homo neanderthalensis Or Man alertWhat were they?
Christopher Bae, paleoanthropologist at the University of Hawaii, decided that a whole new classification was in order. With Xiujie Wu, paleoanthropologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he proposed in a Nature communications Document last November that many of these fossils incorporated taxonomically are united under the name of the species Man juluensis.
Nami H. Juluensis
In Chinese, “Julu” literally means “big head”, and the name corresponds: while our average cranial capacity is around 1,350 cubic centimeters, a Juluensis The skull measures 1,700.
“It’s a bit like Man alert“Said Bae,” but swollen steroids. »»
Technically, the suffix “Ensis” means “from” to Latin – NeanderthalensisFor example, bears the name of the Neander Valley in Germany. But Juluensis It flowed well, then Bae and Wu accompany it even if the term does not refer to a geographical location.
In H. JuluensisThe most familiar faces are the Denisovans (which, unlike their European relatives, the Neanderthals, are not officially recognized as a species). The researchers first found this old hominines in the Denisova cave of Siberia, but other remains have since revealed in distant corners of the Asian continent. A jaw of a Tibetan cave was identified as Denisovan in 2019, and another Jawbone found off Taiwan joined the club in April.
As part of the new arrangement proposed, these specimens – as well as a molar of a Laos cave and fossils with two archaeological sites in China, Xujiayao and Xuchang – would all share the name H. Juluensis. The fragments all indicate an impressive anatomy, and Bae maintains that similarities justify grouping them. But, as he predicted, not everyone approves it.
“We knew from the start that people were going to debate so hard,” he says.
Find out more: Dragon Man Skull, 146,000 years old, confirmed as Denisovan via dental DNA
Two different groups
Indeed, Chris Strunger, paleoanthropologist at the Natural History Museum in London, sees things differently. In 2021, he and his colleagues suggested their own path to sort the chaos in East Asia: A long person. Named for the famous “Dragon“The skull found near the Chinese city of Harbin, this proposed species also throws a large net around the regional fossil file. Stringer would continue to suggest that, with the exception of Xuchang fossils, H. Juluensis and its members would be associated with A long person.
In the end, BAE recognizes that these classifications are somewhat arbitrary.
“There are certainly reasons for different groups,” he says.
But that you choose to call them different species, as opposed to simple populations of a single species, “it is really a question of opinion”. The anatomical features that guide these decisions vary so much In species that it is not always easy where to draw the line between them.
More to learn H. Juluensis
In this regard, at least, Bae and Stringer agree. Time – and the number of quotes in future academic documents – will say which fossil organization scheme earns more members.
In the world of paleoanthropology, there are separators, who emphasize the differences between fossils, and Lumpers, which focus on similarities. Bae is among the Lumpers.
Nevertheless, he does not want to force everything H. Juluensis. At this point, we would just give a new name to the old term “archaic” Homo sapiens“, Which served for decades as a basic garbage taxon: a receptacle for all fossils that do not adapt anywhere else. So many mysteries remain. It is not yet clear where in the family tree to place the man of Maba in southern China, for example, or the Narmada man of Central India.
There is also a lot to learn about the behavior of H. Juluensis. That said, we can reconstruct parts of the puzzle – alongside the fossils of the Xujiayao site, archaeologists have found thousands of stone and animal bone artefacts, mainly horses and gazelles. If they could regularly kill such animals, Bae says: “Juluensis was probably as good if not better than Neanderthal hunting. »»
Learn more:: Homo Longi: extinguished human species that can replace Neanderthals as our nearest parents found in China
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Cody Cottier is a writer contributing to Discover who likes to explore great questions about the universe and our native planet, the nature of consciousness, the ethical implications of science and more. He holds a baccalaureate in journalism and media production of the Washington State University.
