Perhaps you have never thought this was possible, but another group of ancient humans could have lived alongside Homo sapiens thousands of years ago.
Scientists have identified fossils of a new species of ancient human. The species had very large brains and lived in Eastern Asia between 200,000 and 160,000 years ago.
In the 1970s, researchers found a collection of 21 fossil fragments representing 16 individuals at the Xujiayao site in northern China.
Experts didn't realize how unique the remains were until they conducted a comprehensive analysis using advanced imaging techniques.
The previously unknown group of ancient humans had a cranial capacity of about 1,700 millimeters, which is much larger than their ancestors and modern humans. The group has been dubbed "Juluren," meaning "large head people."
The average brain size of modern humans is between 1,090 and 1,880 millimeters. The brain size of Neanderthals ranged from 1,120 to 1,740 millimeters.
The Xujiayao humans had such large brains during an era when most other human species possessed significantly smaller cranial capacities.
They maintained thick skull bones and distinctively shaped teeth, characteristics that were typical of early East Asian humans.
Yet, they also had more advanced features, such as a slower rate of dental development, that were similar to those of Neanderthals and modern humans. Such a combination of traits has never been seen before or since.
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These ancient people lived in what is now northern China. At that time, there was a major glacial period when temperatures were roughly four degrees Celsius lower than today.
The landscape consisted of forest-steppe vegetation. Additionally, they were skilled hunters, particularly of horses.
At the site, thousands of stone balls were found, and they may have been used as hunting weapons. Multiple animal bones with cut marks indicated that they were adept at butchering prey.
The Xujiayao fossils demonstrate that multiple human species likely existed at the same time, possibly even interbreeding. Furthermore, the discovery challenges the scientific understanding of brain evolution.
The presence of such large-brained individuals so early in human evolution indicates that brain size expansion was not a straightforward process. Some human groups may have evolved to have larger brains for various reasons.
DNA evidence and a few fossil remains from Siberia strongly suggest that the Xujiayao humans seem to be related to the Denisovans.
A widespread population of large-brained humans may have existed across a significant portion of eastern Asia back then.
Overall, each new fossil discovery brings scientists closer and closer to piecing together the human evolutionary puzzle.
The ancient large-brained group of people may no longer be around, but they are still contributing to the world in their own way.
The details of the findings were published in the journal PaleoAnthropology.