Ancient Skull Discovery Reveals Mystery Hominin Links
A 300,000-year-old skull fragment, previously believed to belong to a Neanderthal, may represent a new, unidentified hominin. This revelation stems from recent research published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology. The skull, known as Maba 1, displays features akin to Homo erectus and other hominins but does not match any known species precisely, complicating its taxonomic classification.
Discovered by farmers in 1958 near Maba Village, Shaoguan City, China, the fossilized bone remained enigmatic due to the absence of additional skeletal fragments for a comprehensive analysis. Researchers utilized micro-CT scans to reconstruct the skull and found internal structures suggesting it was unlikely to be Neanderthal, with distinct cranial features more closely resembling H. erectus.
Additionally, Maba 1 exhibits signs of trauma, with a lesion on the frontal bone indicating an injury sustained during life, though its origin remains undetermined. Researchers caution that the findings highlight the extensive morphological diversity within late Middle Pleistocene Asian hominins, leaving the classification of Maba 1 unresolved.
China