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science · 3 outlets · 3 linked reports

'Dragon Man' Skull Gives the Mysterious Denisovans a Face

2026-07-07

AI-assisted: summaries and questions may be incomplete or incorrect. Verify important details with the linked original reporting.

Summary

New studies confirmed that the 146,000-year-old 'Dragon Man' (Harbin) skull from northeastern China — originally named Homo longi — belongs to a Denisovan, an elusive human relative known mostly from DNA and tiny bone fragments.
Researchers recovered ancient mitochondrial DNA from plaque on the skull's teeth that matched known Denisovan fossils.
The massive-browed, big-brained skull is the first nearly complete Denisovan cranium, finally giving the lineage a face.

The question

The Dragon Man skull is the most important clue yet to who the Denisovans were.

Original reporting

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