Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Denisovans were an enigmatic human species that, until recently, had only been identified thanks to DNA from fragmentary fossils, including a finger and a jaw bone.
More recently, a spectacular skull found in Harbin, China, has enabled us to put a face to this mysterious species and potentially give the Denisovans a new name: Homo longi, or Dragon Man. But it didn't stop there. Three more skulls uncovered in Yunxian, China, are upending everything we know about human evolution. These 1-million-year-old artefacts offer a tantilising hint that Homo sapiens may be much older than previously thought and suggest we may be looking in the wrong time and place to find Ancestor X, the relative that modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans all decend from.
Join paleoanthropologist, Ella al-Shamahi as we explore the story of Denisovans and how they are changing everything we know about human evolution.
00:00 Intro
01:25 The Human we Found in DNA
03:19 The Skull Hidden in a Well
06:08 The Family Tree Problem
12:52 What Were Denisovans Really Like?
16:40 Why Are We the Only Humans Left?
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Learn more ➤ newscientist.com/article/2510396-hominin-fossils-from-morocco-may-be-close-ancestors-of-modern-humans
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About New Scientist:
New Scientist was founded in 1956 for “all those interested in scientific discovery and its social consequences”. Today our website, videos, newsletters, app, podcast and print magazine cover the world’s most important, exciting and entertaining science news as well as asking the big-picture questions about life, the universe, and what it means to be human.
New Scientist
newscientist.com
Denisovans were an enigmatic human species that, until recently, had only been identified thanks to DNA from fragmentary fossils, including a finger and a jaw bone.
More recently, a spectacular skull found in Harbin, China, has enabled us to put a face to this mysterious species and potentially give the Denisovans a new name: Homo longi, or Dragon Man. But it didn't stop there. Three more skulls uncovered in Yunxian, China, are upending everything we know about human evolution. These 1-million-year-old artefacts offer a tantilising hint that Homo sapiens may be much older than previously thought and suggest we may be looking in the wrong time and place to find Ancestor X, the relative that modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans all decend from.
Join paleoanthropologist, Ella al-Shamahi as we explore the story of Denisovans and how they are changing everything we know about human evolution.
00:00 Intro
01:25 The Human we Found in DNA
03:19 The Skull Hidden in a Well
06:08 The Family Tree Problem
12:52 What Were Denisovans Really Like?
16:40 Why Are We the Only Humans Left?
Love New Scientist? For a specially discounted New Scientist digital subscription, go to newscientist.com/youtube
Learn more ➤ newscientist.com/article/2510396-hominin-fossils-from-morocco-may-be-close-ancestors-of-modern-humans
Subscribe ➤ bit.ly/NSYTSUBS
Get more from New Scientist:
Official website: bit.ly/NSYTHP
Facebook: bit.ly/NSYTFB
Twitter: bit.ly/NSYTTW
Instagram: bit.ly/NSYTINSTA
LinkedIn: bit.ly/NSYTLIN
About New Scientist:
New Scientist was founded in 1956 for “all those interested in scientific discovery and its social consequences”. Today our website, videos, newsletters, app, podcast and print magazine cover the world’s most important, exciting and entertaining science news as well as asking the big-picture questions about life, the universe, and what it means to be human.
New Scientist
newscientist.com
