Salkhit skullcap is Mongolia's only Pleistocene hominin fossil. Initial descriptions suggested archaic affinities like Neanderthal or Homo erectus. New hydroxyproline radiocarbon dating gives 34,950–33,900 Cal BP age. Previous dates of 22-23 ka BP too young due to silicone contaminant. Skull fits Early Upper Paleolithic period in Mongolia. Complete mtDNA genome reconstructed despite contamination. mtDNA falls in haplogroup N widespread in modern Eurasians. N and M basal haplogroups of all non-Africans. Salkhit mtDNA basal to N root with 10 private substitutions. Lineage diverged from N root 19,000-28,000 years before specimen lived. Not ancestral to modern N sub-haplogroups. Similar to 40 ka Oase 1 mtDNA outside known N/M sublineages. Archaic-like morphology likely regional modern human traits. Individual likely used Levallois-like and blade technologies. Confirms early modern human occupation of Mongolia.