Is this a new species of human ? (BBC)
Presented by
Melissa Hogenboom
They're not quite Neanderthals and not quite modern humans. They're something else, but no one is sure what.
Newly-examined fossils suggest that an unknown species of human was roaming parts of northern China between 60,000 and 120,000 years ago. Alternatively, the fossils could be the result of interbreeding between two of the known species.
We know there were as many as four other early humans living on Earth when modern humans were still confined to Africa. The Neanderthals lived in Europe, the Denisovans in Asia and the "hobbit" Homo floresiensis in Indonesia: plus there was a mysterious fourth group from Eurasia that interbred with the Denisovans.
The new findings suggest the picture is even more complicated.
The Chinese remnants were first discovered in a cave in the Xujiayao site in 1976. They consist of some skull fragments, and nine teeth from four individuals. A comprehensive analysis of the teeth has now been published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
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more: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150122-is-this-a-new-species-of-human
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