Overview

• An international team used high‑resolution CT, structured‑light imaging and 3D modeling to virtually restore the crushed Yunxian 2 skull and published the results in Science.
• Comparisons with more than 100 fossils found a mosaic of Homo erectus‑like and more modern traits, with analyses placing Yunxian 2 in an early Asian H. longi clade linked to Denisovans.
• The authors propose that major Homo lineages split hundreds of thousands of years earlier than thought, with some estimates starting around 1.38 million years ago.
• Experts urge caution, citing uncertainties in fossil dating and morphological inference, and note that DNA confirmation is unlikely for remains approaching one million years old.
• The findings elevate Asia’s potential role in human evolution and prompt calls for corroboration through additional fossils, improved dating and, where possible, protein analyses.