# Meet the new face, and braincase to boot, of Asia’s mysterious Stone Age denizens, the Denisovans **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 18, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823 "2025-06-18T23:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/1 "2025-06-18T23:32:10Z")
I didn’t see this posted anywhere, and maybe it’s not new but… > **[‘Dragon Man’ DNA revelation puts a face to a mysterious group of ancient...](https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/18/science/dragon-man-skull-denisovan-dna-evidence/)** > > Scientists have recovered genetic material from a skull found in northeastern China, which they say reveals the most complete Denisovan fossil to date. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/2 "2025-06-19T00:15:24Z")
Paywalled. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/3 "2025-06-19T00:23:56Z")
Ars Technica article: > **[We’ve had a Denisovan skull since the 1930s—only nobody knew](https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/06/the-controversial-dragon-man-skull-was-a-denisovan/)** > > After years of mystery, we now know what at least one Denisovan looked like. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/4 "2025-06-19T03:53:24Z")
From the article “So _Homo longi_ was a Denisovan all along” Nope. Since earlier naming of a species has precedence, “Denisovans” were _Homo longi_ all along. ---
**Author:** ![kwintenstraler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kwintenstraler/32/10698_2.png) [@kwintenstraler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwintenstraler)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/5 "2025-06-19T11:39:51Z")
> **[1st-ever Denisovan skull identified thanks to DNA analysis](https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/human-evolution/ancient-dragon-man-skull-from-china-isnt-what-we-thought)** > > Scientists have determined that a giant skull from an ancient human relative named the "Dragon Man" is actually Denisovan. Reconstruction looks a bit fanciful to me but ok ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/6 "2025-06-19T13:57:06Z")
Dude is _ripped_. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/7 "2025-06-19T14:58:52Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Paywalled. Weird, not paywalled for me. ::shrug:: That’s a serious brow ridge. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/8 "2025-06-19T15:10:33Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > [https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/18/science/dragon-man-skull-denisovan-dna-evidence/](https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/18/science/dragon-man-skull-denisovan-dna-evidence/) I can get to it other ways, like in a Chrome ‘incognito’ window. I used to be able to access CNN subscriber articles in more ways but maybe they dropped a cookie on me and it’s more difficult now. I refuse to pay them to see their content though, and rarely find it worthwhile to put the effort in for a work-around. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/9 "2025-06-19T15:18:13Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Nope. Since earlier naming of a species has precedence, “Denisovans” were _Homo longi_ all along. The skull is old (first unearthed in 1933), but the name is new. “Homo longi” is only from 2021 (I don’t think the scientific community would have approved a Chinese-derived name in 1933). Apparently the discoverer hid the skull away for the better part of a century, before his heirs found it and donated it to a museum. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/10 "2025-07-03T22:02:24Z")
Dear gentle and of course very modern apes, Gutsick Gibbon Erika is back with a doozy ~ “The million dollar question” “The stupid interbreeding these guys are doing” “So unbearably cool” She explains the weird clash between genetics and morphology going on here. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/j8oD9g95jGE/maxresdefault.jpg "Did Denisovans Finally Get a Face? New Homo longi Discovery Explained") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8oD9g95jGE) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/11 "2025-07-03T22:18:22Z")
“I’m not trying to slut shame the hominins” … ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/12 "2025-07-03T22:26:28Z")
A New Scientist article estimated Denisovan weight at 100 kg. That’s way big for an average human. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/13 "2025-07-03T22:31:55Z")
Especially in primitive living conditions. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/14 "2025-07-04T06:41:11Z")
All muscle weight, though? I’m much more inclined to see steatopygia as beneficial rather than an eight-pack. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-face-and-braincase-to-boot-of-asia-s-mysterious-stone-age-denizens-the-denisovans/1019823/15 "2025-07-04T07:37:22Z")
But much more likely to provoke anaconda attacks.