Is it a new human species? Discovered in Spain the oldest face in Western Europe

The bones discovered in Spain will be between 1.1 and 1.4 million years old, destroying the HOMO predecessor from the list of the oldest hominids in Western Europe.

A discovery in northern Spain is questioning what we knew about the history of the early humans in Western Europe. Archaeologists dug up the Older hominid facial bones Known in the region, which will be between 1.1 and 1.4 million years old, in question the previous assumptions about the first human species to inhabit the area.

The fossil, nicknamed “Pink”, was found at the Sima del Elefante site in the Serra de Atapuerca. Researchers believe it represents a new human lineagedistinct from HOMO predecessorwhich for a long time was considered the first hominid to reach this part of Europe.

Based on a preliminary analysis, Pink was classified as Homo aff. erectus – An ambiguous designation that indicates a resemblance to the Man alertbut which leaves open the possibility of belonging to a totally different species.

“This discovery introduces a New actor in the history of human evolution in Europe. It allows us to say that during the beginning of the Pleistocene, more than a human species lived in Europe and that the first hominid of Western Europe was not the HOMO predecessoras previously thought ”, explains Rosa Huguet, the main author of, which was published in Nature.

So far, the oldest human fossils in Western Europe have belonged to the HOMO predecessor And they were between 800 thousand and 900 thousand years, having been found only 250 meters from the place where Pink was found. The remains of pink, however, are Significantly older and exhibit a distinct facial morphology, explains the.

According to María Martin-Porres, co-author of the study, this new species is distinguished from HOMO predecessor due to its most primitive traits. “O HOMO predecessor Share with Homo sapiens a more modern face, while Pink’s facial characteristics They are more primitiveresembling the Man alertparticularly in its flat and underdeveloped nasal structure”.

The discovery fills a crucial gap in the chronology of the first human migrations. The oldest fossils of hominids outside Africa were found in Dmani, Georgia, and date from 1.8 million years ago. These remains, classified as Homo georgicusare considered a primitive form of the Man alertwhich later colonized much of Europe from East and Asia.

The excavations in Sima del Elephant also discovered stone tools and remains of slaughtered animals, indicating that the Homo aff. erectus It was an excellent hunter. However, about one million years ago, this initial population seems to have been replaced by the HOMO predecessor. Scientists are still unsure whether these two species coexisted or if one has disappeared before the other’s arrival.