Homo erectus reached China 600 ky earlier than previously believed

Continuning with this series of posts on new findings in Asia, a paper published on February 18, 2026 (Hua Tu et al. (2026). The oldest in situ Homo erectus crania in eastern Asia: The Yunxian site dates to ~1.77 Ma. Sci. Adv. 12, eady2270. DOI:10.1126/sciadv.ady2270) reports that three skulls belonging to Homo erectus recovered from Yunxian, China were dated to an age of 1.77 million years. This is roughly 600,000 years older than previous estimates.

This new dating is very relevant because it shows a rapid expansion of these hominids across Asia: The oldest remains of erectus are found in Georgia (the Dmanisi site) and are 1.78 to 1.85 Ma. The remains from Indonesia are younger, for instance those from Sanigran are 1.5 to 1.66 Ma., and the age assigned to Chinese remains is close to 1.3 Ma.

Interestingly, this paper mentions two sites in China older than 2.1 million years: "Further, the earliest archaeological traces, as represented by Xihoudu [~2.4 Ma;] and Shangchen [~2.1 Ma]." This could imply a very early out of Africa migration of austraolpithecines perhaps! (see my post on erectus and australopiths in Dmanisi, Georgia).

Yunxian site is on the Han River, in Central China. The paper concludes that:

"The age for Yunxian also indicates that H. erectus at ~1.77 Ma was much more widespread than just Dmanisi in Georgia, although the latter site, at the top of the Olduvai subchron (1.78 to 1.85 Ma), should be slightly older. This supports a rapid dispersal model of H. erectus through Asia beginning after 2 Ma. As the dates for these hominin sites continue to be pushed back in time, it would suggest that the chronological gap between the earliest archaeology at sites like Xihoudu [~2.43 Ma] and Shangchen [~2.1 Ma] and hominin paleontology in China is quickly narrowing. Questions remain, however, as to when and where H. erectus initially appeared and could they have been among the earliest occupants at some of these sites in China and elsewhere that now date to the early Early Pleistocene. If not, then should we be considering alternative hominins as the possible earliest occupants of Asia, particularly because the earliest sites in Asia now predate the traditionally accepted appearance of Homo ergaster/H. erectus (~1.9 Ma). The dates for Yunxian presented here represent a step forward to addressing such questions."

An earlier presence of Homo or australopithecines in East Asia opens the door to a continued migration into America 1.7 to 2.1 million years ago.

The two older sites ~2 Ma

The two sites mentioned further up, over two million years old are linked to the following sources:

G. J. Shen, Y. R. Wang, H. Tu, H. W. Tong, Z. K. Wu, K. Kuman, D. Fink, D. E. Granger, Isochron 26Al/10Be burial dating of Xihoudu: Evidence for the earliest human settlement in northern China. Anthropologie 124, 102790 (2020).
Z. Zhu, R. Dennell, W. Huang, Y. Wu, S. Qiu, S. Yang, Z. Rao, Y. Hou, J. Xie, J. Han, T. Ouyang, Hominin occupation of the Chinese Loess Plateau since about 2.1 million years ago. Nature 559, 608–612 (2018).

I will look into them in a future post, and also, look int the possible origin of the homo group in Asia, instead of Africa.

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Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2026 by Austin Whittall © 

China is redefining hominin evolution

A paywalled paper published three days ago (Feb. 24, 2026) in Nature (Yang, SX., Martinón-Torres, M. & Petraglia, M. Palaeoanthropological evidence from China is changing the picture of hominin evolutionary history. Nat Ecol Evol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-02983-w) reports on the recent research, datings and findings in China that have upended conventional beliefs about the evolution of our species.

"Abstract
Recent palaeoanthropological discoveries in China indicate that eastern Asia had an important role in the evolutionary history of the genus Homo over the past 2 million years. New taxonomic proposals have been made to re-group archaic human fossils, including those considered to be Denisovans, as Homo juluensis and Homo longi. The hypothesis that the affinities of Yunxian 2, dated to about 1 million years ago, also infer an early divergence of the Homo sapiens lineage further underscores China’s pivotal role in global evolutionary narratives. Here we explore key biological and cultural evidence emerging from the Chinese record and its evolutionary implications, raising questions about the relationships between ‘transitional’ clades and their differing adaptive capabilities. Rather than an evolutionary cul-de-sac, China now appears as a dynamic evolutionary crossroad where multiple Homo lineages may have arisen, interacted and adapted to shifting environments. The growing fossil and genetic evidence point to a diversity of populations whose demographic history and gene flow exchange helped to shape the broader mosaic of our species."

In my next two posts I will look into two very papers that report two remarkable findings: an earlier age for the first Out Of Africa event that saw Homo erectus enter Asia (or possibly, even an australopithecine) leave Africa 1.95 million years ago, and also a much older date for erectus' arrival in China. Plus two other papers mentioning sites that are possibly over 2 million years old in China.

I am not a Sinophile, and not because I dislike the Chinese people or their culture, quite the opposite. I have visited China many times before I retired as I worked for several years with companies there, visited customers, traveled the country extensively. I spent vacations there, with my wife, and I also have Chinese friends. I enjoy the food, the rich history, the diverse culture, and its natural sights. I am reluctant to embrace China because I am at odds with the system that governs that great nation. The Chinese Communist party, allied with the People's Liberation Army, is a one-party system that perpetuates a caste, an elite, living in luxury, backed by force that has, for the past 77 years destroyed and ignored the human rights (as we see them with our Western eyes) of its people, jailed opposition, suppressed free press, and supported dictators (like the ones who govern Iran, North Korea, and Russia). Then there are the territorial claims in the South China Sea (Spratly Islands), and its heavy handed attitude with South Korea, and Japan. Add to that the official silence over the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, and how it has gradually eroded the rights agreed upon with Britain for Hong Kong ("One country, two systems", for 50 years) and is slowly but surely imposing its totalitarian views and police-state grip there. The increasingly aggressive stance with Taiwan, the Republic of China, a thriving democracy, is also troubling.

Nevertheless, I am glad that research is uncovering new findings in China. This will help us understand how our ancestors peopled Asia, America, and the interplay between the different branches of hominins.

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Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2026 by Austin Whittall ©