Oldest Human Fossil in Western Europe Found in Spain

The 1.1 to 1.4-million-year-old facial remains suggest a previously unknown hominin population distinct from Homo antecessor.

The fossilized facial bones, nicknamed 'Pink,' were discovered in 2022 at the Sima del Elefante site in northern Spain and are the oldest human remains found in Western Europe.
Researchers have provisionally classified the remains as Homo affinis erectus, indicating similarities to Homo erectus but leaving open the possibility of a distinct species.
The discovery challenges previous assumptions that Homo antecessor was the first hominin to inhabit Western Europe, revealing a more complex evolutionary timeline.
Stone tools and butchered animal bones found at the site provide insights into the subsistence strategies of this early human population, which lived in a forested environment rich in wildlife.
The findings contribute to understanding hominin migration and evolution in Europe but raise questions about the interactions and eventual fate of this population.