Scientists believe they may have identified a new species of human after finding an ancient skull that belonged to a child who lived up to 300,000 years ago.
The fossilised remains, which included a jaw, skull, and leg bones, were discovered in Hualongdong, China in 2019.
What bemused experts, however, is that the individual’s facial features did not match the lineage which split to form Neanderthals, nor Denisovans, nor us, leading them to suspect that we might be missing a branch from the human family tree.
Interestingly, researchers say the species ‘did not possess a true chin’.
This would make it more Denisovan-like – an extinct species of ancient human in Asia that split from Neanderthals more than 400,000 years ago.