A new reconstruction (center) of the crushed Yunxian 2 skull (right) found in China is seen with another squashed skull (left) uncovered at the same site. Guanghui Zhao

A badly crushed cranium unearthed decades ago from a riverbank in central China that once defied classification is now shaking up the human family tree, according to a new analysis.

Scientists digitally reconstructed the squashed skull, thought to be 1 million years old, and its features suggest that the fossil belonged to the same lineage as a striking specimen called “Dragon Man” and the Denisovans — an enigmatic and recently discovered population of prehistoric humans with murky origins. The skull’s age and categorization as an early Denisovan ancestor would mean the group originated much earlier than thought.

The

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