SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

ANTHROPOLOGY

Massive human head find may force evolution rethink

he discovery of a huge fossilised skull that was hidden in a Chinese well nearly 90 years ago has forced scientists to rewrite the story of human evolution. Analysis of the remains has revealed a new branch of the human family tree that points or “Dragon man”, by Chinese researchers. “I think this is one of the most important finds of the past 50 years,” said Prof Chris Stringer, research leader at the Natural History Museum in London. According to the researchers, the skull was originally found in 1933 by labourers in Harbin, in China’s northernmost province, Heilongjiang, during the Japanese occupation. To keep the skull from falling into Japanese hands it was wrapped and hidden in an abandoned well, resurfacing only in 2018 after the man who hid it told his grandson of it before he died.