Fossilised face fragments discovered in a cave in northern Spain have been identified as the oldest human remains ever found in Western Europe.
The partial skull, nicknamed "Pink", dates between 1.1 and 1.4 million years old and belongs to a previously unknown human population.
Scientists found the adult jaw and cheekbone at the Sima del Elefante cave complex in the Sierra de Atapuerca.
The discovery was made in 2022, but researchers have only now pieced together the fragments and determined their significance.
Experts initially thought the fossilised fragments belonged to Homo antecessor, an extinct early human known to have inhabited the area about 860,000 years ago.
However, the face shape was found to be more primitive, resembling Homo erectus, which arrived in south-eastern Europe about 1.8 million years ago.
The fossil has been provisionally classified as Homo affinis erectus.
"We are documenting for the first time a hominid population that we did not know we had in Europe," said Dr Maria Martinon Torres, director of the Spanish National Research Centre for Human Evolution.
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The new species has a more projecting face compared to Homo antecessor's flatter, more modern-like features.
The early humans lived in a "humid forest landscape" with wooded areas, wet grasslands and seasonal water sources.
This environment would have provided rich hunting grounds and abundant plant life. Fossilised pollen suggests Mediterranean-like plants, while bones of hippopotamus, pigs and horses were discovered at the site.
Archaeologists uncovered stone tools and animal remains with cut marks, showing these early humans were skilled at butchery. About 6,000 bone fragments, ranging from aurochs to beavers, were found.
"Although the quartz and flint tools found are simple, they suggest an effective subsistence strategy," said Dr Xosé Pedro Rodríguez-Álvarez.
"This study introduces a new actor in the story of human evolution in Europe," said Dr Rosa Huguet of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution.
"During the early Pleistocene more than one human species lived in Europe and the first hominid was not antecessor as we previously believed."
The fossil was nicknamed "Pink" after Pink Floyd, whose album The Dark Side of the Moon translates to "La cara oculta de la luna", meaning "hidden face".
Researchers plan to further study the bones to determine the exact species and possibly identify if the remains were male or female.
The discovery significantly changes our understanding of human evolution in Western Europe.
"Our discovery proves that at least two different species of human populated Western Europe during the Pleistocene era," said Dr Martinon Torres.
Chris Stringer, a research leader at London's Natural History Museum, called it "a very important find".
Scientists are continuing excavations at the site, with more discoveries possible.
"The discovery of evidence for different hominin populations in Western Europe during the early Pleistocene suggests that this region was a key point in the evolutionary history of the genus Homo," said Dr Eudald Carbonell, co-director of the Atapuerca Project.
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The partial skull, nicknamed "Pink", dates between 1.1 and 1.4 million years old and belongs to a previously unknown human population.
Scientists found the adult jaw and cheekbone at the Sima del Elefante cave complex in the Sierra de Atapuerca.
The discovery was made in 2022, but researchers have only now pieced together the fragments and determined their significance.
Experts initially thought the fossilised fragments belonged to Homo antecessor, an extinct early human known to have inhabited the area about 860,000 years ago.
However, the face shape was found to be more primitive, resembling Homo erectus, which arrived in south-eastern Europe about 1.8 million years ago.
The fossil has been provisionally classified as Homo affinis erectus.
"We are documenting for the first time a hominid population that we did not know we had in Europe," said Dr Maria Martinon Torres, director of the Spanish National Research Centre for Human Evolution.
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The new species has a more projecting face compared to Homo antecessor's flatter, more modern-like features.
The early humans lived in a "humid forest landscape" with wooded areas, wet grasslands and seasonal water sources.
This environment would have provided rich hunting grounds and abundant plant life. Fossilised pollen suggests Mediterranean-like plants, while bones of hippopotamus, pigs and horses were discovered at the site.
Archaeologists uncovered stone tools and animal remains with cut marks, showing these early humans were skilled at butchery. About 6,000 bone fragments, ranging from aurochs to beavers, were found.
"Although the quartz and flint tools found are simple, they suggest an effective subsistence strategy," said Dr Xosé Pedro Rodríguez-Álvarez.
"This study introduces a new actor in the story of human evolution in Europe," said Dr Rosa Huguet of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution.
"During the early Pleistocene more than one human species lived in Europe and the first hominid was not antecessor as we previously believed."
The fossil was nicknamed "Pink" after Pink Floyd, whose album The Dark Side of the Moon translates to "La cara oculta de la luna", meaning "hidden face".
Researchers plan to further study the bones to determine the exact species and possibly identify if the remains were male or female.
The discovery significantly changes our understanding of human evolution in Western Europe.
"Our discovery proves that at least two different species of human populated Western Europe during the Pleistocene era," said Dr Martinon Torres.
Chris Stringer, a research leader at London's Natural History Museum, called it "a very important find".
Scientists are continuing excavations at the site, with more discoveries possible.
"The discovery of evidence for different hominin populations in Western Europe during the early Pleistocene suggests that this region was a key point in the evolutionary history of the genus Homo," said Dr Eudald Carbonell, co-director of the Atapuerca Project.
Find Out More...