Massive "Dragon Man" skull found in China might be a new human evolutionary branch

A gigantic fossilized skull that was hidden in a well in China for 90 years has just been discovered by scientists — and it's making them rethink human evolution.

The skull was originally found in 1933 by Chinese laborers building a bridge in Harbin, a northern Chinese city, during the Japanese occupation, researchers said. To prevent the skull from falling into Japanese hands, it was wrapped and hidden in an abandoned well. It was only rediscovered in 2018 when the old man who originally hid it told his grandson, shortly before his death. The remarkably well-preserved fossil has been labeled a new human species, Homo longi, by Chinese researchers. The species has been dubbed "Dragon man," for the northern Chinese province where the skull was found, Heilongjiang — or in English, the "Black Dragon River" region.