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Date Published: 13/03/2025

Unveiling Europe's earliest face: Spanish researchers reconstruct features of ancient hominid

New fossil discovery in Atapuerca provides crucial insight into early human history, revealing a more primitive species than previously thought

Spanish researchers have uncovered the face of the oldest known hominid in Western Europe, shedding new light on the early inhabitants of the continent. The fossil, found in Atapuerca, has been assigned to Homo aff. erectus, a more primitive species than Homo antecessor.

The specimen, discovered deep within the Sima del Elefante cave in the Sierra de Atapuerca in Burgos, was found in 2022. The fossil features the oldest known hominid facial bones in Western Europe. The remains, including a maxilla and left zygomatic bone, are estimated to be between 1.4 and 1.1 million years old, dating to the Early Pleistocene. These bones do not show features found in Homo antecessor fossils, and they resemble the Homo erectus lineage. However, the fossil has been provisionally classified as Homo aff. erectus, with further studies needed for definitive classification.

This discovery marks another significant moment for the Atapuerca Project. José María Bermúdez de Castro, co-director of the project, described it as a "prodigious era" for the research team. The discovery suggests that Western Europe was populated by at least two species of Homo during the Early Pleistocene: Homo aff. erectus and later Homo antecessor.

Additional archaeological findings, such as simple stone tools and animal bones with cut marks, have provided valuable insights into the hominids’ subsistence strategies. "Our ancestors were perfectly familiar with the available animal resources and knew how to exploit them systematically," said Rosa Huguet, a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA). These tools suggest that early hominids were adept at using the resources in their environment for survival.

The Early Pleistocene landscape of the Sierra de Atapuerca was diverse, with a mix of forested areas, wet grasslands, and seasonal water sources, creating a rich environment for early human populations to thrive.

Images: iphes

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