The phylogenetic position of the Yunxian cranium elucidates the origin of Homo longi and the Denisovans

Xiaobo Feng^#^{1

2

3

4}, Qiyu Yin^#^{5

6}, Feng Gao^#⁷, Dan Lu^#^{5

6}, Qin Fang⁸, Yilu Feng⁹, Xuchu Huang¹⁰, Chen Tan¹¹, Hanwen Zhou¹², Qiang Li^{5

6}, Chi Zhang^{5

6}, Chris Stringer¹³, Xijun Ni^{5

6

14}

Affiliations

¹ School of History and Culture, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.
² Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, China.
³ Institute of Yunxian Man Site, Hanjiang Normal University, Shiyan, China.
⁴ School of History, Culture and Tourism, Hanjiang Normal University, Shiyan, China.
⁵ Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁶ College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁷ Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Kunming, China.
⁸ Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Wuhan, China.
⁹ School of History of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
¹⁰ Museum of Shiyan, Shiyan, China.
¹¹ Poly Art Research Institute, Beijing, China.
¹² School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.
¹³ Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, London, UK.
¹⁴ PaleoAnthropological Research Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 40997177
DOI: 10.1126/science.ado9202

The phylogenetic position of the Yunxian cranium elucidates the origin of Homo longi and the Denisovans

Xiaobo Feng et al. Science. 2025.

. 2025 Sep 25;389(6767):1320-1324.

doi: 10.1126/science.ado9202. Epub 2025 Sep 25.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of History and Culture, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.
² Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, China.
³ Institute of Yunxian Man Site, Hanjiang Normal University, Shiyan, China.
⁴ School of History, Culture and Tourism, Hanjiang Normal University, Shiyan, China.
⁵ Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁶ College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁷ Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Kunming, China.
⁸ Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Wuhan, China.
⁹ School of History of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
¹⁰ Museum of Shiyan, Shiyan, China.
¹¹ Poly Art Research Institute, Beijing, China.
¹² School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.
¹³ Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, London, UK.
¹⁴ PaleoAnthropological Research Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 40997177
DOI: 10.1126/science.ado9202

Abstract

Diverse forms of Homo coexisted during the Middle Pleistocene. Whether these fossil humans represent different species or clades is debated. The ~1-million-year-old Yunxian 2 fossil from China is important for understanding the cladogenesis of Homo and the origin of Homo sapiens. In this study, we restored and reconstructed the distorted Yunxian 2 cranium using recently introduced technology. The results show that this cranium displays mosaic primitive and derived features. Morphometric and phylogenetic analyses suggest that it is an early member of the Asian H. longi clade, which includes the Denisovans and is the main part of the sister group to the H. sapiens clade. Both the H. sapiens and H. longi clades have deep roots extending beyond the Middle Pleistocene and probably experienced rapid early diversification. Yunxian 2 may preserve transitional features close to the origins of the two clades.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
- Atypon

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

The phylogenetic position of the Yunxian cranium elucidates the origin of Homo longi and the Denisovans

Affiliations

The phylogenetic position of the Yunxian cranium elucidates the origin of Homo longi and the Denisovans

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources