Hominid evolution remains a dynamic field. Two interesting stories have emerged recently. New fossils reveal a strange-looking Neanderthal in Israel Some of the earliest bands of modern humans who ventured out of Africa and into the Middle East 120,000 to 140,000 years ago might have met a strange-looking character with the look of a primitive Neanderthal, but a stone toolkit as modern as their own. New fossils of this individual, found over the past decade in Israel, are stirring intense debate among paleoanthropologists: Was it the earliest known Neanderthal in the Middle East, or a late remnant of a previously unknown Neanderthal ancestor? https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/new-fossils-reveal-strange-looking-neanderthal-israel Stunning ‘Dragon Man’ skull may be an elusive Denisovan—or a new species of human Almost 90 years ago, Japanese soldiers occupying northern China forced a Chinese man to help build a bridge across the Songhua River in Harbin. While his supervisors weren’t looking, he found a treasure: a remarkably complete human skull buried in the riverbank. He wrapped up the heavy cranium and hid it in a well to prevent his Japanese supervisors from finding it. Today, the skull is finally coming out of hiding, and it has a new name: Dragon Man, the newest member of the human family, who lived more than 146,000 years ago. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...may-be-elusive-denisovan-or-new-species-human As an aside, 23andMe analysis reports that I have ~2% Neanderthal DNA (248 variants out of 7,462 variants tested) which is more Neanderthal DNA than 64% of their customers. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
