A N D R E W  C O L L I N S
HISTORY AND SCIENCE WRITER
 
 
Hi, everybody.
 
Hope you are keeping well.
 
Watch my new video "Denisovan Origins of the Black Dragon skull. Were the mythical Black Dragons Chinese Denisovans?"
 
 
 
We have all heard a lot about the discovery of China's Black Dragon skull, but academics in the West seem pretty sure it is Denisovan and not some new species as is proposed. What then is the skull's origin and its relationship the Qesem Cave and Nesher Ramla humans of Israel. Plus is there evidence to show that the skull's name, Dragon Man, relates to China's mythical heilong or Black Dragons being an abstract memory of Denisovans? The video reveals new evidence to this effect.
 
If you haven't heard what's happened, here are the facts ...
 
A massive 146,000 year old human skull was found in 1933 by labourers building a bridge over the Songhua River at Harbin, a city in China’s Heilongjiang province in the north of the country. It was hidden away at the time due to an imminent invasion by the Japanese, who would have taken it way as the spoils of war, and was only retrieved in 2018 when the man who concealed it revealed its whereabouts on his death bed to his grandson. The skull was retrieved and handed to authorities, who presented it to the scientific community who began an intensive study on its age, its physiognomy and its relationship to the Homo species. 
 
The skull - which is 23cm long and more than 15cm wide (9 inches by 6 inches) - is much larger than that of other so-called archaic humans and has a brain capacity in the range of 1420ml, comparable to that of a modern human. It has a thick brow ridge with a face that has large square eye sockets. It is thought to have belonged to a male, approximately 50 years old, who, "would have been an impressive physical specimen. His wide, bulbous nose allowed him to breathe huge volumes of air, indicating a high-energy lifestyle, while sheer size would have helped him withstand the brutally cold winters in the region."
 
The Chinese team studying the skull used a Bayesien statistical analysis to determine its place in the phylogenetic tree of the Homo species. They concluded it belonged to a previously unknown species, which they called Homo longi, meaning "Dragon Man." This derives from the name of the province, which is Heilungjiang, meaning "Black Dragon River." This in turn alludes to the Heilung (Black Drgaon) river known in Russian as the Amur. This forms a natural border between the Russian Far East and China. As you will see in the video, the Black Dragon features in a local legend concerning a strange ape like biped with the appearance of a dragon that is born to a human woman.  
 
Despite claims by the Chinese paleoanthropologists studying the Dragon Man skull that it belongs to a previously unknown human species, most western paleoanthropologists - such as Chris Stringer of London's Natural History Museum and John Hawks at the University of Wisconsin-Madison - doubt this, suggesting instead that it probably Denisovan in origin. This is a member of the Homo species we had no knowledge of prior to 2010, when its existence was revealed when the genome was sequenced of a small pinky bone found in Siberia's Denisova Cave. It was subseuently found that many modern populations in the eastern half of the Eurasian continent and also in Island Southeast Asia had anything up to 5-6 percent Denisovan ancestry. It was also determined that a large number of sophisticated objects found in the same layer as the pinky bone, and dating to between 40,000-50,000 years ago could well have been manufactured by Denisovans, who were quite obviously highly skilled and had a profound knowledge of ancient technologies such including stone tool manufacture, the manufacture of bone needles, the earliest knowledge of the heavens and even, possibly, the ability to ride horses. On top of this was the discovery of some extra large molars confirmed to be from Denisovans showing that they could well be of exceptional size and height. A jawbone found in the Baishiya Cave on the Tibetan Plateau in northwestern China also had extremely large teeth and has been confirmed to be that of a Denisovan who lived around 160,000 years ago.
 
Denisovans existed in large parts of the Eurasian continent between, roughly, 400,000 years ago and around 50,000 years ago, with some groups perhaps surviving on remote islands in Island Southeastern Asai through till around 15,000 years ago.
 
In a BBC article Prof Marta Mirazon Lahr, from the University of Cambridge, believes that Dragon Man was, in fact, a Denisovan. "The Denisovans are this fascinating mystery population from the past. There is a suggestion (from DNA evidence) that the jawbone found in the Tibetan Plateau might be a Denisovan," she said. "And now because the jawbone from Tibet and Dragon Man look like each other - now we might actually have the first face of the Denisovan."
 
"Homo longi is heavily built, very robust,” said Prof Xijun Ni, a paleoanthropologist at China's Hebei University. “It is hard to estimate the height, but the massive head should match a height higher than the average of modern humans.”
Wheel back one .... "It is hard to estimate the height, but the massive head should match a height higher than the average of modern humans.”
 
So this individual would appear to have been of particularly large size. Everything - the time frame, location and description of the individual - supports the conclusion it is that of a Denisovan.
 
The Chinese insistence that the Dragon Man skull is a new species worries me slightly, and if they resist the idea that it is Denisovan then I only hope this does not affect the manner in which it will hopefully be tested for DNA evidence.
 
As far back as 2014 I was the first writer to publish on the Denisovans being of extreme size and that they were perhaps the giants of legend and linked also with the oversized skeletons found in their hundreds in Native American mound cemeteries across the United States. This was included in my contribution to Gregory L Little's brilliant book Path of Souls: The Native American Death Journey. These ideas were further expanded in 2018's The Cygnus Key and 2019's Denisovan Origins co-authored again with Greg Little.
 
One skull doesn't make a giant, but all the evidence emerging now from the Denisova Cave in Siberia, the Baishiya Cave in Tibet, and the Dragon Man skull from Harbin in China indicates that the Denisovans were indeed huge. If we are right on this, then more evidence will no doubt come to light as time goes by and we will come to see that the stories of "giants" in this world were indeed real.
 
There are, however, even more revelations surrounding the discovery of the Dragon Man skull. As the linked BBC article shows there is talk now that Dragon Man and thus the Denisovans are related to another new discovery made recently in Israel.
 
This is of fragments of a human skull found at a Middle Paleolithic site named Nesher Ramla near Tel Aviv. They derive from an individual that lived 130,000 years old who displayed both modern human (Homo sapien) and Neanderthals traits. It is being linked with the much earlier proto modern humans who lived at the Qesem Cave just north of Nesher Ramla. They thrived between 400,000-200,000 years ago in the Levant and were not only highly sophisticated but might also have invented shamanism - swan shamanism at that.
 
I write about the Qesem Cave people in new book Origins of the Gods, once again co-authored with Greg Little. It is thought that the Nesher Ramla individual is linked both anatomically and technologically with the Qesem Cave people.  See this article https://inews.co.uk/news/science/archaeologists-discover-new-early-human-israel-middle-east-1069872
 
Earlier in an article published by Ancient Origins in 2019 I had predicted that the Siberian Denisovans could themselves be the result of interbreding between the Qesem Cave people and proto Denisovans moving through the Levant en route from Africa to Siberia and Eastern Asia.
 
The discovery both of the Dragon Man skull in China and the Nesher Ramla skull in Israel backs up this theory and is now being taken seriously by mainstream paleoanthropologists.
 
So exciting times all round. More surely to come soon.
 
Just to let you know that in 2022 there are two Ancient Origins tours you might be interested in.
 
One is to Gobekli Tepe and a number of great sites in Turkey. That's in May. And also we go to Egypt on a very special tour in February.
 
I shall be accompanying the Egypt tour as special guest and tour guide. However, as you probably are aware, I am personna non grata in Turkey, so ancient civilizations author Jim Willis will be your special guest on this one (even though since I organised it, I shall be there in spirit and on conference calls).
 
Anyway, take a look at the tours and let me know what you think.
 
Details below with links. Feb 18-March 4, 2022. Andrew Collins joins THE SECRETS OF ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE LOST TECHNOLOGIES OF THE PHAROAHS tour as special guest and tour guide. Earlybird Price! $5795 (This earlybird price offer is only available until November 1, 2021) Delight in this 14-night/15-day luxury tour of Egypt visiting: Giza, Cairo, Saqqara, Luxor, El-Fayyum Oasis, Karnak, Edfu, Abydos, Dendera, Kom Ombo, the Valley of the Kings, Aswan, Abu Simbel, the Libyan Desert, and many more outstanding destinations in the land of the pharaohs!
 
 
May 15-26, 2022. Andrew Collins has helped put together this comprehensive 12 day/11 night tour of Turkey with Ancient Origins and Travel the Unknown. Early bird price until March 01, 2022. Sites include Göbekli Tepe (twice), Catal Hoyuk, Nemrut Dag, Hattusa, Alaca Höyuk, Cappadocia with its fairy chimneys and underground cities, Konya Whirling Dervishes, Asikli Hoyuk, the ancient Sabian city of Harran, Ankara Museum, and the beautiful iconic sites of Istanbul. Special guest for the tour is Jim Willis, the author of twelve books with a life-time’s experience of spirituality, ancient religion, and lost civilizations.
 
 
Best wishes,
 
Andrew Collins


EVENTS AND TOURS
with ANDREW COLLINS
 
EVENTS AND TOURS
IN BRIEF

Andrew Collins at Harran (Pic credit: Hugh Newman).
Join Andrew Collins on one of his tours of discovery
or watch out for when he comes to your town.
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Oct 9-11, 2021. New Living Expo. Andrew Collins is joining an illustrious line up of speakers at this year's New Living Expo event at San Mateo, CA. He will be revealing the Denisovans's role in the origins of civilization and the foundation of ancient cosmologies regarding humanity's origins among the stars. He will also deliver a presentation entitled Transdimensional Portals and the Mystery of Skinwalker Ranch. For more info and registration details go to http://www.newlivingexpo.com
Feb 18-March 4, 2022. Andrew Collins joins THE SECRETS OF ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE LOST TECHNOLOGIES OF THE PHAROAHS tour as special guest and tour guide. Earlybird Price! $5795 (This earlybird price offer is only available until November 1, 2021) Delight in this 14-night/15-day luxury tour of Egypt visiting: Giza, Cairo, Saqqara, Luxor, El-Fayyum Oasis, Karnak, Edfu, Abydos, Dendera, Kom Ombo, the Valley of the Kings, Aswan, Abu Simbel, the Libyan Desert, and many more outstanding destinations in the land of the pharaohs! Click here for more information
May 15-26, 2022. Andrew Collins has helped put together this comprehensive 12 day/11 night tour of Turkey with Ancient Origins and Travel the Unknown. Sites include Göbekli Tepe (twice), Catal Hoyuk, Nemrut Dag, Hattusa, Alaca Höyuk, Cappadocia with its fairy chimneys and underground cities, Konya Whirling Dervishes, Asikli Hoyuk, the ancient Sabian city of Harran, Ankara Museum, and the beautiful iconic sites of Istanbul. Special guest for the tour is Jim Willis, the author of twelve books with a life-time’s experience of spirituality, ancient religion, and lost civilizations. Book now for a special early bird offer.
 
 
 

 
 
 
October 2021
October 9-11, 2021. New Living Expo. Andrew Collins is joining an illustrious line up of speakers at this year's New Living Expo event at San Mateo, CA, on April 3-5, 2020. He will be revealing the Denisovans's role in the origins of civilization and the foundation of ancient cosmologies regarding humanity's origins among the stars. He will also deliver a presentation entitled Transdimensional Portals and the Mystery of Skinwalker Ranch.
Andrew's lecture:
DENISOVAN ORIGINS AND THE COSMIC GENESIS OF HUMAN KIND
Before the dawn of civilization lived an ancient population known today as the Denisovans. They were extremely large, robust and quite striking in appearance. They were also incredibly sophisticated, creating advanced technologies as much as 60-70 years ago. Andrew - the writer new book Denisovan Origins, co-authored with Greg Little - reveals the Denisovans' incredible journey, showing how they almost certainly kickstarted human civilization as much as 45,000 years ago. He reveals also the Denisovan's extraordinary achievements, what they looked like, where they came from, and how they created a universal belief in humanity's cosmic origins found much later at places like Gobekli Tepe in Turkey and the Great Pyramid in Egypt. He shows how Denisovan hybrids entered the Americas as much as 50,000 years ago triggering the American genesis, their presence on the continent being preserved in Native American tradition as the giants of legend.
 
February 2022
Andrew Collins joins

THE SECRETS OF ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE LOST TECHNOLOGIES OF THE PHAROAHS

February 18 to March 4, 2022. Andrew Collins joins THE SECRETS OF ANCIENT EGYPT AND THE LOST TECHNOLOGIES OF THE PHAROAHS tour as special guest and tour guide.

Earlybird Price! $5795 (This earlybird price offer is only available until November 01, 2021) Delight in this 14-night/15-day luxury tour of Egypt visiting: Giza, Cairo, Saqqara, Luxor, El-Fayyum Oasis, Karnak, Edfu, Abydos, Dendera, Kom Ombo, the Valley of the Kings, Aswan, Abu Simbel, the Libyan Desert, and many more outstanding destinations in the land of the pharaohs! Click here for more information
 
May 2022

 
May 15-26 2022. Andrew Collins has helped put together this comprehensive 12 day/11 night tour of Turkey with Ancient Origins and Travel the Unknown. Early bird price until March 1, 2022. Sites include Göbekli Tepe (twice), Catal Hoyuk, Nemrut Dag, Hattusa, Alaca Höyuk, Cappadocia with its fairy chimneys and underground cities, Konya Whirling Dervishes, Asikli Hoyuk, the ancient Sabian city of Harran, Ankara Museum, and the beautiful iconic sites of Istanbul. Special guest for the tour is Jim Willis, the author of twelve books with a life-time’s experience of spirituality, ancient religion, and lost civilizations. Book now for a special early bird offer.
 
 
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