--- title: Skulls Found in China Are Part Human, Part Neanderthal description: Newly uncovered skulls in China have both human and Neanderthal features, a mix that so far hasn't been seen in a hominid fossil. canonical: https://time.com/4690289/china-skulls-human-neanderthal/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-03T17:00:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:34.093Z article:section: Science og:title: Skulls Found in China Are Part Human, Part Neanderthal og:description: It's a mix that so far hasn't been seen in a hominid fossil og:url: https://time.com/4690289/china-skulls-human-neanderthal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d72928ea219a619/6988bce87cdbac21c1d5758d/skull-china-neanderthal.jpg?branch=production&width=699&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 699 og:image:height: 393 og:image:alt: skull-china-neanderthal og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Skulls Found in China Are Part Human, Part Neanderthal twitter:description: It's a mix that so far hasn't been seen in a hominid fossil twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d72928ea219a619/6988bce87cdbac21c1d5758d/skull-china-neanderthal.jpg?branch=production&width=699&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Skulls Found in China Are Part Human, Part Neanderthal > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=ba7a0f9b-f652-4d0e-835a-94d50bf0a341&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 34.2% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 2.1% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=ba7a0f9b-f652-4d0e-835a-94d50bf0a341&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=ba7a0f9b-f652-4d0e-835a-94d50bf0a341&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Scientists Have Discovered the First Dinosaur Brain Fossil [Watch (HLS stream): Scientists Have Discovered the First Dinosaur Brain Fossil](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NgWf7jx2.m3u8) (0:56)  _Published 2016-10-27. More than a decade ago, an amateur fossil collector found a brown, pebble-sized lump on a beach in Sussex, England. Now scientists have determined that lump is the first known fossilized brain tissue from a dinosaur._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 3, 2017 5:00 PM UTC  Fossil fragments (yellow) were put together with their mirror-image pieces (purple) to visualize the skull of an archaic human who lived in eastern China. Fossil fragments (yellow) were put together with their mirror-image pieces (purple) to visualize the skull of an archaic human who lived in eastern China. AAAS  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 3, 2017 5:00 PM UTC Newly uncovered skulls in China have both human and Neanderthal features, a mix that so far hasn’t been seen in a hominid fossil. [Writing in the journal _Science_](http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6328/969), researchers described the Pleistocene-era skulls as having “a morphological mosaic with differences from and similarities to their western contemporaries.” The brow ridges and skull mass resembled early modern humans of the Old World, the skulls had a flat brainpan like other eastern Eurasian humans of the time, but their ear canals and large back section of the skull resembled Neanderthals, [the Washington _Post_ explains](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/03/03/skulls-found-in-china-were-part-modern-human-part-neanderthal-possibly-new-species/?utm%5Fterm=.cb14a85d6f90). Some experts think these skulls belong to ice-age humans called Deniso­vans, [_Science_ _Magazine_ reports](http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/ancient-skulls-may-belong-elusive-humans-called-denisovans). But Xiujie Wu, author of the study, speculated to the magazine that these partial skull fossils could be a new species, “a kind of unknown or new ar­chaic human that survived on in East Asia to 100,000 years ago.” These skulls aren’t the first evidence, however, that humans and Neanderthals may have mated. 1-3% of the average person is made up of Neanderthal genes, according to a 2014 [study](http://time.com/2837/neanderthal-genes-in-you/?iid=sr-link2). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4690289/china-skulls-human-neanderthal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4690289/china-skulls-human-neanderthal/"},"headline":"Skulls Found in China Are Part Human, Part Neanderthal","datePublished":"2017-03-03T17:00:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:34.093Z","description":"It's a mix that so far hasn't been seen in a hominid fossil","url":"https://time.com/4690289/china-skulls-human-neanderthal/","keywords":["China","fossils","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d72928ea219a619/6988bce87cdbac21c1d5758d/skull-china-neanderthal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d72928ea219a619/6988bce87cdbac21c1d5758d/skull-china-neanderthal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"skull-china-neanderthal","caption":"Fossil fragments (yellow) were put together with their mirror-image pieces (purple) to visualize the skull of an archaic human who lived in eastern China.","creditText":"AAAS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4690289/china-skulls-human-neanderthal/","name":"Skulls Found in China Are Part Human, Part Neanderthal"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Scientists Have Discovered the First Dinosaur Brain Fossil","description":"More than a decade ago, an amateur fossil collector found a brown, pebble-sized lump on a beach in Sussex, England. Now scientists have determined that lump is the first known fossilized brain tissue from a dinosaur.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/NgWf7jx2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-10-27T18:20:18.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NgWf7jx2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4690289/china-skulls-human-neanderthal/","duration":"PT56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4690289/china-skulls-human-neanderthal/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```