DNA from Sebria may signal new species of human ancestor

DNA from Sebria may signal new species of human ancestor

BEIJING, March 27 -- Scientists used a DNA-decoded method to investigate an ancient human who has been discovered in a cave in southern Siberia, according to British newspaper Daily Mail.

Living 6.8million years ago this is Sahelanthropus tchadensis. Parts of its jaw bone and teeth were found nine years ago in the Djurab desert, Chad, and from this scientists created this model head.

The mysterious human, who lived alongside our ancestors tens of thousands of years ago, earned a nickname “X-Woman”.

Through analysing DNA from a fossilized finger bone, researchers found it doesn't match modern humans or Neanderthals, two species that lived in that area around the same time - 30,000 to 50,000 years ago.

The Siberian species lineage may split off from the branch leading to moderns and Neanderthals a million years ago, the researchers calculated.

And they also said that it doesn't seem to match the history of human ancestors previously known from fossils.

Researchers presumed that the Siberian species may be brand new, although they cautioned that they're not ready to make that claim yet.

This paleoanthropological breakthrough may rewrite mankind's family tree.

This young woman lived between 100,000 and 90,000 years ago. Her skull and mandible were found in a cave in Israel in 1969 along with the remains of 20 others. The size of their skulls was higher than that of the average person today.

This skull was fashioned from a skull and jaw found in the remains of 17 pre-humans (nine adults, three youths and five children) which were discovered in the Afar Region of Ethiopia in 1975. They are believed to have lived 3.2million years ago.

Meet "Mrs Ples" who was unearthed in Sterkfontein, South Africa in 1947. Her whole skull was found and it is believed she lived 2.5million years ago. Sediment traces found on the inside of her skull indicate to scientists that she died by falling into a chalk pit.(Photo Source:

This skull was fashioned from a skull and jaw found in the remains of 17 pre-humans (nine adults, three youths and five children) which were discovered in the Afar Region of Ethiopia in 1975. They are believed to have lived 3.2million years ago.

This species of sub-human - Homo rudolfensis - was found in Koobi Fora, Kenya, in 1972. The adult male is believed to have lived about 1.8million years ago. He used stone axes ate meat and plants and lived on the wooded edge of Lake Turkana in Eastern Africa.

Researchers shaped this skull on the basis of this discovery of 'Zinj' in 1959. The adult male lived 1.8million years ago in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania. He would have fed himself on seeds, plants and roots which he dug out with bones.

The near-complete skeleton of "Turkana Boy", a male adolescent aged about 13, was found in Nariokotome, Kenya, in 1984. He lived 1.6million years ago. His teeth and skull bear a close resemblance to discoveries in Asia of homo erectus.

Discovered in Java, Indonesea, this skull belonging to "Sangiran 17" is believed to have belonged to an adult male who probably lived around 800,000 years ago. He was found by an Indonesian farmer hacking away in a field. Sangiran is believed to have used fire.

The discovery of this adult male in Sima de los Huesos, Spain, in 1993 points to an early stage in the evolution of neanderthal man due to the shape of his face. "Miquelon" was around 1.75m tall and lived about 500,000 to 350,000 years ago. His remains were found with that of 31 others which led researchers to believe this was a burial site.

The skull and jaw of this female 'hobbit' was found in Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia, in 2003. She was about 1m tall and lived about 18,000 years ago. The discovery brought into question the belief that Homo sapiens was the only form of mankind for the past 30,000 years. Homo sapiens are the primate species to which modern humans belong.

The "Old man of La Chapelle" was recreated from the skull and jaw of a male found near La Chapelle-aux-Saints, in France in 1908. He lived 56,000 years ago. His skeleton indicated he suffered a number of illness including arthritis and had numerous broken bones. This was not noticed when he was first discovered and gave rise to the mistaken belief that neanderthal man was a hunched individual. His relatively old age of between 40 to 50 indicates he was looked after by a clan。
(Photo Source: CRIOnline.com)