The research, led by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Hawaiʻi and published in Nature Communications, proposes Homo juluensis as a newly designated archaic human species that inhabited East Asia.
Homo juluensis lived roughly 300,000 to 50,000 years ago, roaming the cold woodlands and plains of northern and central China (with key fossil sites at Xujiayao and Xuchang). They possessed exceptionally large skulls, with brain volumes reaching 1,700–1,800 cm³ around 30% larger than average modern humans (Homo sapiens). They exhibited large molars and robust jaw structures that blend traits seen in Neanderthals and earlier Asian hominins.
Paleoanthropologists suggest that Homo juluensis fossils likely represent the long-sought physical remains of the Denisovans—a group previously known almost exclusively from sparse ancient DNA fragments.
Formed small, organized groups to hunt wild horses and process marrow. Crafted stone tools and prepared animal hides to endure harsh glacial winter climates in northern East Asia.
The identification of Homo juluensis demonstrates that human evolution in Asia was not a simple linear progression from Homo erectus to modern humans. Instead, at least four distinct human species coexisted in Asia during the Middle to Late Pleistocene—including Homo sapiens, Homo floresiensis, Homo luzonensis, and Homo juluensis / Homo longi—frequently overlapping, adapting to distinct regional environments, and interbreeding.
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