Meet the ancient ‘big head’ people: Scientists uncover a ‘lost’ human in Asia with an abnormally large skull that lived alongside homo sapiens 100,000 years ago

Scientists have discovered a ‘lost’ species of human with an abnormally large skull which lived alongside homo sapiens. 

Known as the Juluren, meaning ‘big head people’, this ancient species may have lived in China between 300,000 and 50,000 years ago.

Scientists believe they would have had a larger brain than any of the known hominin species, including modern-day humans.

‘Homo julurensis’ would likely have hunted wild horses in small groups, made simple stone tools for cutting, and possibly processed animal hides for clothes.

This form of ‘large-brained hominin’ would have been a relative of the Neanderthals and the Denisovans – another ancient human ancestor.

Previous studies have tended to lump together lots of different fossils as a single diverse group.

However, paleoanthropologist Professor Xiujie Wu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and anthropologist Dr Christopher Bae from the University of Hawai’i argue that scientists have missed key characteristics in the fossil record.

In a ‘provocative’ paper, these scientists claim that some fossils have a mosaic of features which don’t fit with any known human species.

In the past, any fossil which wasn’t either homo sapiens or homo erectus was grouped together as Denisovan, a type of early hominin related to Neanderthal which bred with modern humans in Asia.

However, Dr Bae says that some of these fossils should actually be considered their own separate species called homo julurensis.

The researchers analysed 21 hominin fossils from an unknown number of individuals found in China during the 1970s and skull fragments from two individuals found in 2005 at a different Chinese site. 

Using new techniques for organizing fossil evidence, Dr Bae and Professor Wu identified a set of characteristics that didn’t match the known species.

The most distinctive of these characteristics is the abnormally large skull which gives the Juluren their name.

By piecing together the remains of the skull, researchers estimate that it would have had a volume of 1700 ml, larger than even the 1,330 ml skull of homo sapiens. 

The most complete skull was found in an area of China known as the Nihewan Basin which was filled by a large lake 300,000 years ago.

Palaeontologists believe the ancient human species made their settlements on the shores of this lake which now holds their remains in its thick sediment.

Not only was the skull abnormally large, but it was also strangely shaped, being much wider at the base than a typical skull.

In addition to skull fragments, researchers have subsequently found pieces of jaw and teeth.

Together, the researchers argue there are enough distinct characteristics to support the existence of a completely new category of humans.

In their paper, published in PaleoAnthropology, Professor Wu and Dr Bae argued: ‘Collectively, these fossils represent a new form of large-brained hominin.’

This complex pattern of traits suggests that there was far more interbreeding and shared ancestry between the various hominin groups living in Asia between 300,000 and 50,000 years ago.

However, these arguments have been controversial with some pointing out that the fossil evidence for homo julurensis remains relatively thin.

Professor Jonathan Hawk, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, described the new paper as ‘provocative’ in a post on X.

However, Professor Hawk maintains that the basic idea behind the Julurensis theory is valid.

In a blog post, Professor Hawk wrote: ‘I think the record is more expansive than most specialists have been assuming.

‘Calling all these groups by the same name makes sense only as a contrast to recent humans, not as a description of their populations across space and time.’

The new species is yet to be officially scientifically recognised – a formal approval given by an authoritative taxonomic body. 

But however homo julurensis ends up being classified, the researchers argue that the simple story of human evolution in Asia no longer stands to scrutiny.

Dr Bae says: ‘This study clarifies a hominin fossil record that has tended to include anything that cannot easily be assigned to homo erectus, homo neanderthalensis or homo sapiens.’

While the human family tree was once considered fairly simple, recent years have seen a sudden bloom of new offshoots.

For example, in 2003, scientists discovered the fossil remains of homo floresiensis, the smallest known human species which live in Indonesia 100,000 years ago.

And in 2021, scientists officially recognised the existence of homo longi, a species known as the ‘dragon people’ found in China. 

And in 2021, scientists officially recognised the existence of homo longi, a species known as the ‘dragon people’ found in China.

Homo longi had a brain comparable in size to that of modern humans, but sported big, almost square eye sockets, thick brow ridges, a wide mouth and larger teeth. 

As these discoveries emerge, many researchers now argue that there is a compelling case to reconsider the groupings of some Asian fossils.

Writing in Nature Communications, Professor Wu and Dr Bae conclude: ‘It is becoming increasingly clear that the eastern Asian hominin fossils are not only increasing in number thanks to new discoveries, but that a greater degree of morphological variation is present than originally assumed or anticipated.’