Not just 'Dragon Man': Israeli scientists identify another human species

Discovery of 'Nesher Ramla Homo' announced after revelation of early 'Homo longi' human found in China

Tel Aviv University Professor Israel Hershkovitz holds what scientists say are two pieces of fossilised bone of a previously unknown kind of early human discovered at the Nesher Ramla site in central Israel. Reuters

The fossil remains of a skull and a jaw of a new early human species were uncovered at the quarry of a cement plant near the central Israeli city of Ramla. AFP

The discovery of a possible new early human in Israel coincided with the announcement that a skull discovered in north-east China represents a newly discovered human species that scientists have named Homo longi or "Dragon Man". AFP

Tel Aviv University Professor Israel Hershkovitz holds what scientists say is a piece of fossilised bone of a previously unknown kind of early human discovered at the Nesher Ramla site in central Israel. Reuters

The site of excavations in the quarry of a cement plant near the central city of Ramla in which researchers uncovered prehistoric remains that could not be matched to any known species from the Homo genus. AFP

Hila May, a physical anthropologist at the Dan David Centre and the Shmunis Institute of Tel Aviv University, holds what scientists say is a piece of fossilised bone of a previously unknown kind of early human discovered at the Nesher Ramla site in central Israel. Reuters

A view of the archaeological layers uncovered during the dig at a site in Nesher Ramla in central Israel. EPA

A handout screen grab shows a virtual reconstruction of the Dragon Man skull found in the Chinese city of Harbin. AFP

An artist's rendering of Dragon Man in his habitat. AFP

Israeli scientists have discovered human remains distinct from Neanderthal humans, who walked the Earth until 40,000 years ago.

The previously unknown human ancestors have been called Nesher Ramla Homo type by the scientists, who uncovered the remains near the city of Ramla, south of Tel Aviv.

Fragments of a skull discovered at the site could be up to 140,000 years old.

The Nesher Ramla Homo group, the team believes, were thriving in the Middle East 400,000 years ago and probably related to the “pre-Neanderthal” inhabitants of Europe.

Neanderthals, or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, likely became extinct over generations through breeding with their successors, early modern humans, but also faced harsh climatic conditions.

“This is the first time we could connect the dots between different specimens found in the Levant” said Tel Aviv University’s Dr Rachel Sarig.

"There are several human fossils from the caves of Qesem, Zuttiyeh and Tabun that date back to that time that we could not attribute to any specific known group of humans," she said.

"But comparing their shapes to those of the newly uncovered specimen from Nesher Ramla justify their inclusion within the [new human] group."

According to Dr Hila May, also of Tel Aviv University, the findings will change how we understand human evolution. The remains of the first identified Neanderthal were found in Neandertal valley, Germany, in 1856.

This led some scientists to believe that early humans originated in Europe or had been nomads who reached Germany from Asia.

That changed with the discovery of the remains an early species of human in Kenya in 1974.

The advent of DNA analysis in the 1980s was another leap forward in the study of early humans, again pointing to East Africa as the cradle of civilisation.

On Friday, a series of papers published in The Innovation, a scientific journal, announced the identification of another archaic human, Homo longi, based on a well-preserved skull first found in 1933 but only recently examined by scientists.

“Dragon Man” was named after the place where his skull was found in Harbin City, north-eastern China. It could be up to 300,000 years old.

Not just cavemen

“We had never imagined that alongside Homo sapiens, archaic Homo roamed the area so late in human history,” lead Nesher Ramla archaeologist Dr Yossi Zaidner said.

In line with the modern understanding of Neanderthals, the Nesher Ramla Homo were more advanced than the primitive caveman image popularised since the early 20th century.

“The archaeological finds associated with human fossils show that ‘Nesher Ramla Homo’ possessed advanced stone-tool production technologies and most likely interacted with the local Homo sapiens,” Dr Zaidner said.