Largest Middle Pleistocene skull excavated in China

(ECNS) -- A 1,700-milliliter human skull has been excavated at north China's Xujiayao site, the largest of its kind from the Middle Pleistocene, according to China's vertebrate paleontology and paleoanthropology researchers.

The cranial capacity was calculated based on the combination of endocast and formula, said Wu Xiujie, a researcher from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology.

The restoration was completed through CT screening technology and image theory.

The study was published in the Journal of Human Evolution.

Former research did not classify the humans living at the Xujiayao site into a specific period, as physical features and evolution history here cover a large spectrum.

Xujiayao human fossils were discovered in the bordering area between north China's Hebei and Shanxi provinces from 1976 to 1979. Eighteen skull and three tooth fossils were found during the excavation.