The bone pieces discovered in an old Spanish cave are from the most ancient human face found so far in Western Europe, according to researchers.
The fossilized remnants consist of the left cheekbone and upper jaw of an adult from an extinct human species that inhabited and perished on the Iberian Peninsula roughly between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years ago.
This finding indicates that at least two types of early humans inhabited the area during the early Pleistocene epoch, when the cave was located amidst lush woodlands teeming with fauna and crisscrossed by various waterways.
"This study brings forth a fresh character into the narrative of human evolution in Europe," stated Dr. Rosa Huguet from the University of Rovira i Virgili located in southern Catalonia, who assisted in discovering the fossils within the Sima del Elefante (Elephant Pit) cave close to Atapuerca in Burgos.
Early humans migrated to Eurasia from Africa at least 1.8 million years ago, as indicated by the evidence. five skulls originating from the era of Dmanisi in Georgia. These craniums are linked to Homo erectus, the initial ancient human species to migrate out of Africa.
So far, the oldest human remains found in western Europe dated back to between 1.1 million and 1.2 million years ago. jawbone and teeth from Sima del Elefante. Younger human remains Discovered around 800,000 years ago, these remains were found within the Gran Dolina (Giant Sinkhole) cave nearby. Specific characteristics of these fossils prompted scientists to classify them as a separate species, known as Homo antecessor, also referred to as Pioneer Man.
Writing in the journal Nature The Spanish team indicates that the most recent findings are more archaic compared to Homo antecessor but bear similarities to Homo erectus. Due to the ambiguity surrounding the fossil’s classification, they have labeled the species as Homo affinis erectus, highlighting its strong connection to this earlier form of humanity.
Related: Where have they all vanished to? How Homo sapiens turned into the sole surviving human species.
The Latin name is not the only one used for the remains, however. Informally, the researchers nicknamed the fossil “Pink” after Pink Floyd, whose album The Dark Side of the Moon translates to “La cara oculta de la luna”, where “cara oculta” means “hidden face”.
Dr María Martinón-Torres, who leads the National Centre for Research on Human Evolution in Burgos, noted that one of Pink’s distinct features was her flatter nasal structure compared to Homo antecessor. Unlike this earlier species, Pink exhibited a more contemporary facial appearance along with pronounced nasal bones similar to those found in Homo sapiens.
Chris Stringer, who leads research on human evolution at the Natural History Museum in London, stated that the fossil was "an extremely significant discovery." In 2023, Stringer along with several others made this identification. period of extreme cooling roughly 1.1 million years ago might have pushed early humans out of Western Europe, potentially accounting for the distinct population discovered at Sima del Elefante afterward.
Excavations at Sima del Elefante paint a picture of lush meadows and woodlands more than 1.1m years ago with oaks, pines, juniper and hazel trees in abundance. Rivers cutting through the landscape drew water voles and mice, hippos, bison and deer. Quartz and flint tools have also been recovered alongside animal bones bearing cut marks from butchering.
Further understanding of the Sima del Elefante way of life can be gleaned from a groove spanning part of a tooth’s surface in the Pink fossil. This marking, thought to represent wear caused by early use of primitive dental tools, provides additional clues about their habits.
This marks another stride toward comprehending the early inhabitants of Europe," stated Dr José María Bermúdez de Castro, who co-directs the Atapuerca Project. "It appears that these initial humans bore similarities to those often categorized under Homo erectus. Nonetheless, the findings from the Sima del Elefante location exhibit a distinct set of characteristics. To form a firmer conclusion regarding their specific classification, additional fossils must be discovered at other contemporaneous sites.