Scientists discover new species of early human
Face bones from the oldest human ever discovered have been found in western Europe – and they belong to a species that archaeologists did not know existed.
An adult jaw and cheekbone dating between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago were found in a cave at the Sierra de Atapuerca in northern Spain.
Experts originally thought that the fossilised fragments belonged to the species Homo antecessor – an extinct early human known to have inhabited the area about 860,000 years ago.
But the face shape was found to be more primitive, resembling Homo erectus, a far earlier species that arrived in south-eastern Europe about 1.8 million years ago.
The fossil, provisionally classified as Homo affinis erectus, is the earliest hominid found so far in Western Europe.
Dr Rosa Huguet, of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution, said: 'This study introduces a new actor in the story of human evolution in Europe.
'During the early Pleistocene more than one human species lived in Europe and the first hominid was not antecessor as we previously believed.'
The dispersed facial fragments were discovered in 2022 at the Sima del Elefante cave complex in Atapuerca, but it has taken until now for researchers to piece them back together and understand their origin.
Dr Maria Martinon Torres, an honorary professor of anthropology at University College London and the director of the Spanish National Research Centre for Human Evolution, said: 'Our discovery proves that at least two different species of human populated Western Europe during the Pleistocene era and it provides fascinating insight into the evolution of the genus Homo.
'The evidence is still insufficient for a definitive classification, which is why it has been assigned to H. aff. Erectus [Homo affinis erectus].
'We are documenting for the first time a hominid population that we did not know we had in Europe. The density of hominid populations in Europe is so low that the evidence of finding habitation is quite extraordinary.'
The early humans lived in a 'humid forest landscape' peppered with wooded areas, wet grasslands and seasonal water sources, which would have provided rich hunting grounds and abundant plant life.
Fossilised pollen remains suggested Mediterranean-like plants and bones of hippopotamus, pigs and horses were discovered.
Although the human remains were found inside the caves, the animals and tools were found outside, leading experts to think they spent most of their time in the open air.
Archaeologists believe that the bones may have been carried inside by water or gravity after death.
As well as the bones, archaeologists uncovered stone tools and animal remains with cut marks, showing that the early humans were adept at butchery.
About 6,000 bone fragments, ranging from aurochs to beavers were uncovered at the site.
Dr Xosé Pedro Rodríguez-Álvarez, a specialist in lithic industries, said: 'Although the quartz and flint tools found are simple, they suggest an effective subsistence strategy and highlight the hominins' ability to exploit the resources available in their environment.'
The team is planning to further study the bones to try to pin down the species and even find out if the remains were male or female.
Dr Eudald Carbonell, the co-director of the Atapuerca Project, said: 'The discovery of evidence for different hominin populations in Western Europe during the early Pleistocene suggests that this region was a key point in the evolutionary history of the genus Homo.'
The findings were published in Nature.
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