Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Digital skull reconstruction of around one million years old shows that the long history of humans is different from previous theories.
New studies show humans may have evolved from their ancestors 400,000 years earlier than estimates, and not in Africa but in Asia.
Findings published in the journal Science This is based on the skull found in 1990 and labeled Yunxian 2.
Previously, the fossil was believed to be Homo Erectus. However, thanks to modern reconstruction technology such as CT scan, structured light imaging, and virtual reconstruction, scientists find characteristics that are more like Homo Longi and Homo Sapiens.
“These findings changed a lot of thoughts,” said Chris Stringer, anthropologist from the Natural History Museum, London, who was involved in this research, quoted from CBS NewsTuesday (9/30/2025).
“This shows that about one million years ago, our ancestors were divided into different groups, indicating the division of human evolution occurred much earlier and more complex than what had been believed,” he added.
Xijun Ni, a professor at Fudan University who led the research, said he was surprised. “From the beginning it was difficult to believe, how could this happen far in the past? But we re -test all models and methods, and now we are sure of the results. We are very excited,” he said.
The researchers rate, if these findings are true, there may be the initial ancestors from other groups such as Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens that are already there early. It also challenges the old theory that ancient humans only spread from Africa.
“This can be a major change. East Asia now plays an important role in the evolution of Hominin,” said Michael Petraglia, Director of the Human Evolution Research Center at Griffith University, Australia, who was not involved in the study.
To verify, the team compared the Yunxian 2 model with more than 100 other specimens. The results show a combination of unique characteristics: the lower face that stands out like Homo Erectus, while the larger brain capacity approaches Homo Longi and Homo Sapiens.
However, a number of experts still doubt this conclusion. Archeologist Andy Herries from La Trobe University assessed that the fossil shape does not always reflect the genetic history of human evolution.
Aylwyn Scally, an evolutionary geneticist from Cambridge University, emphasized the need for additional evidence, especially from genetic data, before this result was ascertained.
This research adds a list of the latest findings that complicate our understanding of human origins. Homo Longi, also known as “Dragon Man”, was only designated as a new species in 2021 by a team that also involved stringer.
“Fossils like Yunxian 2 show how many things we still have to learn about our origins,” Stringer said.
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