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A 32,000-year-old skull discovered in central China is oldest known human fossil found in Henan province
- Archaeologists also found a separate skull that they believe is 12,000 years old
- The discovery comes just months after ‘Dragon Man’ sparked debate about a new species of the human family
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Chinese archaeologists announced on Monday the discovery of a 32,000-year-old human skull in the central province of Henan, the oldest ever found there.
Archaeologists and officials said they had found fossils in two mountain caves, including two different skulls from humans who died 20,000 years apart.
The 32,000-year-old skull is believed to be an early modern human, a Homo sapiens ancestor who belonged to the same species that dominate the planet today.
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Scientists also found tools in the area, such as scrapers, and over 10,000 fossils from animals that lived upwards of 40,000 years ago.
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Liu Haiwang, the president of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, told Xinhua that the discovery was “extremely important for understanding the origins and evolution of modern people in China”.
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