Man finds 300,000-year-old skull unlike any human species we have ever seen

Archaeologists have spent 60 years trying to figure out the origin story of a 300,000-year-old skull, and it seems a team of scientists, who have re-examined the findings, are one step closer to having an answer. 

The story began in 1958 in southern China, where farmers in the Guangdong province were excavating bat guano for fertilizer. In a narrow trench of an eroded limestone cave near Maba Village in Shaoguan City, they stumbled upon a remarkable find.

Bones that appeared to be human were later confirmed to be part of a skull, along with several facial bones. However, because the remains were incomplete, it was challenging to place the skull within the context of our ancient ancestors, reports Daily Star. 

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Maba 1, as it came to be known, was nearly impossible to identify with certainty, but it was dated to the late Middle Pleistocene era, making it approximately 300,000-years-old.

Some initial studies at the time suggested that it might be a relative of the Neanderthals, earning it the occasional nickname "Chinese Neanderthal."

Now, a team of scientists who previously studied the skull has re-examined it and reached an alternative conclusion. 

"[Maba 1] is well-known for the Neanderthal-like face, while its neurocranium shows affinities with many hominin taxa, which makes the taxonomic status of Maba 1 controversial," they wrote in a study recently published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology.

Using micro-CT scans to reconstruct a skull, researchers were able to examine its interior without harming the actual specimen, leading to revelations that challenge previous beliefs about its origins, as reported by Popular Mechanics.

According to the study, Maba 1 was considered a "Chinese Neanderthal" based on the "resemblance manifested in the facial area.

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However, this study did not find characteristics uniquely belonging to Homo neanderthalensis in Maba 1 internal structures.

Further analysis suggested that the skull's "general morphology is closer to Homo erectus than to later encephalized species, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens."

The team said in a statement: "The internal structures of Maba 1 show a combination of morphological features found in various species."

The statement added: "These findings are further evidence that the high morphological variability among Asian hominins in the late Middle Pleistocene. Maba 1 currently cannot be definitely classified in any known hominin taxon."