A recent discovery in a Spanish cave provides insight into the oldest known fossil remains of human ancestors in Western Europe. Excavations at a site called Sima del Elefante uncovered several fossil fragments that, when assembled together, form a partial left upper jaw and cheek bone estimated to be between 1.4 million and 1.1 million years old. This ancient midface belongs to a previously unknown European Homo population, as reported by zooarchaeologist Rosa Huguet and her team from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution.
The fossil features of the jaw and cheek resemble those of Homo erectus individuals who inhabited a site in Georgia around 1.8 million years ago, but more evidence is needed to determine if the new find qualifies as H. erectus or represents a separate species. Each fossil fragment was digitally scanned to create a virtual, 3-D version of the entire ancient midface. The team also found a lower jaw fossil dating between 1.2 million to 1.1 million years ago in the same cave, which might have belonged to the same unnamed Homo species as the facial fossil.
Previous hominid fossils discovered at Gran Dolina, a cave near Sima del Elefante, belonged to a species known as Homo antecessor, dated between 900,000 and 800,000 years ago. However, the midface fossils found at Sima del Elefante are structurally different, and it is uncertain whether these two European Homo species had any evolutionary connection. Some evidence suggests that the Sima del Elefante species, which also left behind simple stone tools, may have disappeared from Europe before the arrival of Homo antecessor.
According to the researchers, the ancient midface fossils found in a mild ecological setting with evidence of meadows, woods, shrubs, and streams may have belonged to a Homo species that went extinct before the arrival of later humans like Homo antecessor. Biological anthropologist G. Philip Rightmire, who was not involved in the study, believes that the Sima del Elefante population likely belonged to Homo erectus based on comparisons with similar faces found in Dmanisi, Georgia.
The reconstructed midface fossils shed light on one of the oldest known European hominids, but further research is needed to determine the exact species to which these ancient individuals belonged. The presence of Homo erectus in Georgia around 1.8 million years ago suggests a long-lasting regional population, with later populations potentially moving into Europe. The discovery at Sima del Elefante offers valuable insights into the early evolution and diversity of ancient human species in Europe and raises intriguing questions about the interactions and migrations of different Homo populations during this period.
