Chinese researchers unveils an ancient skull that could belong to a new species of human
MAD News 
The team has claimed it is our closest evolutionary relative among known species of ancient humans, such as Neanderthals and Homo erectus.
Nicknamed "Dragon Man", the specimen represents a human group that lived in East Asia at least 146,000 years ago.
It was found at Harbin, north-east China, in 1933, but only came to the attention of scientists more recently.
An analysis of the skull has been published in the journal The Innovation.
One of the UK's leading experts in human evolution, Prof Chris Stringer from London's Natural History Museum, was a member of the research team.
"In terms of fossils in the last million years, this is one of the most important yet discovered.
"What you have here is a separate branch of humanity that is not on its way to becoming Homo sapiens (our species), but represents a long-separate lineage which evolved in the region for several hundred thousand years and eventually went extinct."
