A new discovery reported on Sunday, Dec. 18, may forever change scientists’ understanding of human evolution. Paleontologists revealed recently what they say is a new human species from eastern Asia that lived alongside homo sapiens more than 100,000 years ago.
Researchers said the unearthed fossils revealed these so-called “large head people” also known as the “Juluren.” They say the Juluren had much larger brains than homo sapiens and most likely hunted horses in small groups.
The new study suggests the human species may be much more diverse than previously thought, and may explain how modern humanity came to be. Scientists note, until very recently, all human fossils found in China not matching those of homo sapiens or homo erectus were placed into a single group, but now that’s changed, with the latest piece, the Juluren, now part of various branches on the evolutionary tree.
The “large head people” add to a growing list of new human species discovered over the past two decades, including the smallest known species of human in 2003, and another entirely new species in China in 2023.
