Fossilised Face of Oldest Human to Have Lived in Europe Unearthed in Spain

The discovery was made at the TE7 level of the Sima del Elefante cave site in Spain.

Fossilised Face of Oldest Human to Have Lived in Europe Unearthed in Spain

Photo Credit: Reuters

The recently discovered fossil was found at a lower level than the 2007 discovery

Highlights
  • Before this, human fossils found from level 9 in 2007 were the oldest
  • They belonged to two individuals who lived some 1.2 million years ago
  • New fossil can give insight into evolution of human race outside Africa
Advertisement

A team of paleoanthropologists have unearthed a human fossil that is estimated to be around 1.4 million years old. The fossil was found at the Sima del Elefante archaeological site in Spain during excavations on June 30. The fossil contains fragments of a human skull and is said to be the oldest ever found in Europe, according to Atapuerca Foundation.

The discovery was made at the TE7 level of the Sima del Elefante cave site. Edgar Tellez, a doctoral student at the National Center for Research on Human Evolution, first spotted the cheekbone that appeared in the clay. Following this, he noticed the maxilla — the bone which forms the upper jaw — emerging from the soil.

Before this, the human fossils found from level 9 or TE9 of the site in 2007 were the oldest. The fossils consisted of a jaw and some other bone fragments. They belonged to two individuals who lived some 1.2 million years ago. The find was exceptionally rare and researchers could not figure out which group they belonged to. The fragments were, hence, put in the Homo category, in which the modern humans or Homo sapiens fall.

The recently discovered fossil was found at a lower level than the 2007 discovery. The jaw found at the TE9 level had a modern feature on the chin. Now, researchers believe that the new fossil could be related to the older one. In addition, it could belong to one of the first populations that ever lived in Europe.

Researchers hope that an analysis of the new fossil can give them better insight into the evolution of the human race outside Africa. Moreover, it will allow them to make a detailed comparison between the recently found fossil and the Homo antecessor, which was unearthed decades ago and whose age was estimated to be 8,50,000 years.


Is PS Plus better than Xbox Game Pass now? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

US Crypto Exchange Coinbase Wins Regulatory Nod in Italy
NASA's Perseverance Rover Spots Hair Ball-Like Object On Mars
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »