Sinanthropus

Sinanthropus (lat. Sinanthropus) is a fossil species of people whose remains were discovered in 1924 in East Asia. Sinanthropus belongs to the genus Homo and is likely the ancestor of modern humans.

The discovery of Sinanthropus was made in 1891, when a Chinese peasant named Chou Chien-ching, who was searching for precious stones on the banks of the Fei River, came across a human jaw. In 1907, paleontologist Pei Wenzhong discovered several more fragments of Sinanthropus bones in the Zhoukoudian Cave and suggested that they belonged to the same species.

Sinanthropus lived in East Asia about 600 thousand years ago. They were small in stature (about 150 cm), had a dense build, a short neck and a narrow forehead. Their skull was relatively flat and had developed brow ridges. The lower jaw was short and wide, and the teeth were adapted for chewing hard food.

From a genetic point of view, Sinanthropus was related to modern humans and may have been their direct ancestors. However, due to the lack of reliable evidence and lack of scientific data, the question of the origin of synanthropes remains open.