A newly discovered fossil from a human ancestor, estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.4 million years old, has further complicated the already tangled story of human evolution.
Found in northern Spain in 2022, the incomplete skull—the oldest ever found in Western Europe—comprises part of a left cheekbone and upper jaw.
The study, published in Nature, provides fresh evidence of early human migration into Europe, challenging previous assumptions about when and how human ancestors first ventured beyond Africa.
Eric Delson, a palaeontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the research, said: “The fossil is exciting.
“It’s the first time we have significant remains older than one million years old in Western Europe.”
While earlier fossils of early human ancestors were found in Georgia, at the junction of Eastern Europe and Asia, and are believed to be around 1.8 million years old, the Spanish discovery is the first clear sign that human ancestors were likely exploring Europe during this time.
Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program, explained that the fossil represents “the first clear evidence that human ancestors were taking excursions into Europe”.
Nevertheless, he cautioned: “There’s no indication yet that these early migrants stayed for long; they may have arrived, then disappeared without leaving much trace.”
The fossil itself shares many features with Homo erectus, the species believed to have migrated from Africa into Asia and Europe around two million years ago.
However, there are some noticeable anatomical differences.
Rosa Huguet, a study co-author and archaeologist at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology, noted that the fragmentary nature of the fossil makes identification tricky.
Christoph Zollikofer, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Zurich, who likewise did not participate in the study, said: “One of the challenges of studying such early human fossils is that when you find just one fragment, it’s difficult to definitively place it in the evolutionary tree.”
The Atapuerca Mountains in Spain, where the fossil was found, are already known as a key site for understanding human evolution.