| Common name | Xuchang Man |
|---|---|
| Species | uncertain Archaic Human |
| Age | Late Pleistocene, 125,000–100,000 years ago |
| Place discovered | Lingjing site, Xuchang, Henan Province, China |
| Date discovered | 2007 |
| Discovered by | Li Zhanyang |
The Xuchang Man is a species of extinct humans that lived in Central China around 100,000 to 130,000 years ago during the Late Pleistocene. Known from fossils of two skull caps (crania) that were collected by Li Zhanyang from Xuchang, Henan Province, the first in 2007 and the second in 2014, the discovery was announced in 2017 following the scientific descriptions published in Science. Comparative study indicated that it has a mixture of early modern human (Homo sapiens), Peking Man (Homo erectus) and the Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) features. Evolutionary analysis in 2025 showed that the Xuchang Man is distinct from other early or archaic humans, even from those found in China such as Homo longi (Denisovans), Homo juluensis, Penghu 1, Hualongdong people, Dali Man and Jinniushan Man.
The Xuchang Man fossils were discovered from Lingjing site located in northeast Xuchang county, Henan Province, Central China. The Lingjing site was discovered in 1965 as an archaeological site containing many prehistoric human tools. Excavation was difficult due to continuous seeping underground water. In 2005, the water source, a spring, completely dried up so that Li Zhanyang (also spelled Zhan-Yang) from the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, and also at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was able to conduct systematic excavation and soon discovered numerous animal fossils, stone and bone tools from different ages. In a more comprehensive excavation that lasted till 2015, Li, then accompanied by Li Yanan (from Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology) and Shinji Kato (from Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Japan), discovered more stone tools by which the site was recognised as prehistoric human habitation, specifically calling it a "stone industrial site". Fragments of humans fossils that represented at least five individuals were also collected at the deepest layer, and were associated with many stone tools and animal bones. Li gave the name Xuchang Man.
In December 2007, Li first noticed beautiful quartz stone tools at the newly dug up area in Lingjing site. Searching for more tools for the next two days, he found a distinct skull cap consisting of small fragments, designated Xuchang 1, that were dispersed all over a small areas. He could not make a detailed description due to absence of other similar fossils and its fragmentary nature. In 2014, another skull cap, Xuchang 2 was found that made its possible to make proper analysis. The fossils were first reported in the Journal of Xuchang University in 2008. By 2014, 44 human skulls were found but were more fragmented and likely not related to Xuchang Man that they were excluded from further analysis.
Full analysis including morphometric analysis, CT scanning, 3D graphic reconstruction and interpretation were performed with the help of Erik Trinkaus of the Washington University, US. Li's team also performed age determination (carbon-14 and optically stimulated luminescence) testings. The results were published in the journal Science in 2017 with a conclusion that "They reflect eastern Eurasian ancestry in having low, sagittally flat, and inferiorly broad neurocrania. They share occipital (suprainiac and nuchal torus) and temporal labyrinthine (semicircular canal) morphology with the Neandertals... [and having shared features with early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, they] argue both for substantial regional continuity in eastern Eurasia into the early Late Pleistocene and for some level of east-west population interaction across Eurasia."
In 2015, Li reported a discovery of two limb bones from the same Lingjing site but said that they could be "different from the ancient human skull fossils". It is not clear yet if they belonged to the Xuchang Man.
The larger fossil, Xuchang 1, has a brain volume of 1,800 cubic centimetres, much larger than that of the average modern human (with 1,400 cubic centimetres). While the brain size of Xuchang 2 is within the average of modern humans. A low skull cover with relatively flat surface found in both fossils is a feature of Peking Man. However, Xuchang 1 also shows many features of those of modern humans. The thin bone plate and moderate brow ridge are similar to those of early modern humans. They also exhibit important features of Neanderthals, the appearance of semicircular canals inside the skull and the organisation of the rear of the skull. Zhou Liping of Peking University who led the research on dating the specimens reported that the fossils were buried around 105,000 to 125,000 (130,000) years ago.
At the onset of the analysis, Xuchang Man was considered as belonging or closely related to the Neanderthals, but Trinkaus was quick to realise the disctinction, saying, "They are not Neandertals in the full sense." Initial comparison with the Xujiayao Man which was discovered in 1974 and described in 1986, that was later classified as Homo juluensis also showed similar age range and common features. In creating the new species H. juluensis, Christopher J. Bae and Xiujie Wu suggested that Xuchang Man may fit into H. juluensis. For sometime, the generally accepted position of Xuchang Man is as a paratype (secondary specimen to Xujiayao Man) of H. juluensis.
Bae and Xu further argued that fossils like Denisovans (specifically the Xiahe mandible) and Penghu 1 should also be included in H. juluensis. G. Philip Rightmire of the Binghamton University, New York, disagreed and suggested that these fossils in China can be grouped into Homo heidelbergensis. Structural comparison (morphometric analysis) in 2004 of the putative Denisovans and Narmada Human (discovered in India) by David Gokhman and his team at Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, indicated that Xuchang Man could not be fitted into the Denisovan group. Evolutionary (phylogenetic) analysis in 2025 showed that the Xuchang Man is distinct from other early or archaic humans, even from those found in China such as Homo longi (Denisovans), Homo juluensis, Penghu 1, Hualongdong people, Dali Man and Jinniushan Man. This suggests that Xuchang Man is apparently a distinct species of humans.
Xuchang Man has a mixed feature with different human species that it is impossible to identify its exact species, unless DNA samples were available. Genome sequencing had effectively established closely related humans, the Denisovans and Neanderthals as unique species, yet they share large portions of their genomes with living humans. Trinkaus explained to the BBC that without DNA evidence, it cannot be convincingly said that Xuchang Man is related to the Denisovans, with which they appear to have many similarities, but the shared features with Neanderthals indicate an interlinking relationship with archaic humans. He also reported to the Washington University media: "The features of these fossils reinforce a pattern of regional population continuity in eastern Eurasia, combined with shared long-terms trends in human biology and populational connections across Eurasia. They reinforce the unity and dynamic nature of human evolution leading up to modern human emergence.
As Xuchang Man was discovered from the same geographical region of the Denisova Cave, and some shared features with the Denisovans, palaeontologists like María Martinón-Torres of the University College London suggested that the two humans could be of the same species, just with "an Asian flavor" in Xuchang Man. Based on the available data, Li is convinced that Xuchang Man is a distinct human species.
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