Skull reshapes the human family tree: Denisovans, Homo longi, and the Denisova connection

Scientists describe how a single skull challenges the conventional view of human evolution. The video surveys a panorama of ancient humans including Homo floresiensis, Homo luzinensis, Neanderthals, Homo naledi, and Homo erectus, and explains how Denisovan DNA has begun to redraw the family tree. A 2019 discovery at Baisha Karst Cave on the Tibetan plateau and a 2021 Denisovan DNA signal from a skull in northeast China tie the enigmatic Denisovans to modern humans and to the proposed species Homo longi, also known as Dragon Man. The emerging picture suggests three broad groups — Neanderthals, modern humans, and Denisovans — with Denisovans potentially our closest relatives. The video also discusses how little we know about Denisovan life and what remains to be learned at future sites.