A human skull different from those found previously has been discovered in China and could mean that there was a different type of human hundreds of thousands of years ago.
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A team of international researchers has unearthed the lower jaw of a skull in the Hualongdong area, unlike any other bone of its kind ever discovered, dating from the Late Pleistocene geologic epoch, CNN reports.
This period, ending over 11,000 years ago, would have been crucial for the development of humans as we know them today.
The skull in question, designated HLD 6, is said to share features in common with modern humans as well as with hominoids that were common during the Pleistocene.
Although the jaw resembles that of Homo sapiens, the skull would not have a chin, which is a feature of Homo erectus.
“These are the oldest fossils discovered in Asia that show characteristics of prehistoric man and Homo sapiens,” says María Martinón-Torres, one of the authors of the study published in the Journal of Human Evolution, in an interview with CNN.
The skull may have belonged to a specimen aged 12 to 13 years.
According to the study, this is not the first time hard-to-classify bones have been found in this Chinese region.
Researchers will now be busy studying the skull further to position it in the human evolutionary tree.