Joe Rogan Experience #2546 - Michael Button · Aired Aug 26, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Identifying the Yunxian skull as Homo longi implies that the divergence of Homo sapiens occurred before 1 million years ago.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Reclassifying the Yunxian skull under Homo longi doesn't push the human family tree's split past a million years. Current estimates place the divergence between the Denisovan or Homo longi lineage and Homo sapiens at around 804,000 years ago, which is still under a million.
Read the supporting source · en.wikipedia.org ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Identifying the Yunxian skull as Homo longi implies that the divergence of Homo sapiens occurred before 1 million years ago?
No, not as stated. Reclassifying the Yunxian skull under Homo longi doesn't push the human family tree's split past a million years. Current estimates place the divergence between the Denisovan or Homo longi lineage and Homo sapiens at around 804,000 years ago, which is still under a million. Michael Button said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2546 - Michael Button, aired Aug 26, 2026, at 1:21:42. The supporting source is en.wikipedia.org, linked below.
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