In 1933 a team of workers building a bridge in Northern China dug up a strange skull. Nicknamed "Dragon Man", the specimen represents a human group that lived in East Asia at least 146,000 years ago. The skull’s unusual features have sparked fierce debate about where exactly it fits on the human family tree. Could it represent a primitive form of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals or a different species entirely?

Join Chris Stringer and Alison Shean as we uncover the fascinating story of Dragon Man.

00:00 Intro
1:20: Introduction from Chris Stinger
1:39: When and where was the Dragon Man skull found?
4:04: Chris shows us a replica of the skull
9:00: Where does Dragon Man appear in the human family tree?
12:20: Who were the Denisovans?
15:00: What is the most complete Denisovan fossil?
15:55: Could Dragon Man be a Denisovan?
16:25: How might Dragon Man have lived?
19:10: Could convergent evolution mislead phylogenetic analysis?
20:21: Did both Dragon Man and Neanderthals live alongside Homo sapiens?
21:47: How many types of human do we know about?
23:05: What future research will be carried out on Dragon Man?
25:00: Could you use mitochondrial DNA to find out more about Dragon Man?
26:00: Are humans still evolving?
27:12: Could there be many more ancient human relatives to be discovered and where should we look for them?

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