Archeologists uncovered remains of the oldest human ancestor in Western Europe

New discovery

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A team of archeologists has uncovered the oldest remains of a human ancestor in Western Europe, unveiling more details about humans' incursion into the continent.

Face remains

New discovery, Face remains, Unknown ancestor, Oldest remains, Homo Erectus?, Eastern Europe, The link between species, Timing human entry into Western Europe, Waves of migration, Large blank periods, Norther Spain cave

The team from the Spanish National Research Center for Human Evolution discovered a facial fragment in 2022. The details of the discovery were published in March 2025 in Nature.

Unknown ancestor

New discovery, Face remains, Unknown ancestor, Oldest remains, Homo Erectus?, Eastern Europe, The link between species, Timing human entry into Western Europe, Waves of migration, Large blank periods, Norther Spain cave

According to NBC News, one of the most interesting details of the fossil is that it belongs to an unknown species. The team was unable to verify the human ancestor.

Oldest remains

New discovery, Face remains, Unknown ancestor, Oldest remains, Homo Erectus?, Eastern Europe, The link between species, Timing human entry into Western Europe, Waves of migration, Large blank periods, Norther Spain cave

María Martinon-Torres, a co-author of the study, confirmed that it was the oldest human remains found in Western Europe, between 1.1 and 1.4 million years old.

Homo Erectus?

New discovery, Face remains, Unknown ancestor, Oldest remains, Homo Erectus?, Eastern Europe, The link between species, Timing human entry into Western Europe, Waves of migration, Large blank periods, Norther Spain cave

One of the team's hypotheses is that the facial piece, which they named Pink, belonged to a Homo Erectus or a related species.

Eastern Europe

New discovery, Face remains, Unknown ancestor, Oldest remains, Homo Erectus?, Eastern Europe, The link between species, Timing human entry into Western Europe, Waves of migration, Large blank periods, Norther Spain cave

Another remains found in Georgia, Eastern Europe, is the oldest on the continent, around 1.8 million years old. The new discovery could provide a link between that and more recent species.

New discovery, Face remains, Unknown ancestor, Oldest remains, Homo Erectus?, Eastern Europe, The link between species, Timing human entry into Western Europe, Waves of migration, Large blank periods, Norther Spain cave

The Homo antecessor has a similar structure to us. The new fossil does not resemble the one found in Eastern Europe or the Homo antecessor. It is like something in between.

Timing human entry into Western Europe

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Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program, told AP News that the discovery shows that they "were taking excursions into Europe" at that time.

Waves of migration

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It can help experts timeline the waves of human migration into that side of the continent. Research suggests that humans settled into Europe in waves but subsequently died out.

Large blank periods

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NBC explained that fossil recordings are intermittent in that area of the continent, suggesting there were also eras without humans in the area.

Norther Spain cave

New discovery, Face remains, Unknown ancestor, Oldest remains, Homo Erectus?, Eastern Europe, The link between species, Timing human entry into Western Europe, Waves of migration, Large blank periods, Norther Spain cave

That is also the case in the Atapuerca cave in northern Spain, where the team found the new remains. The cave has previously unveiled very relevant human ancestor fossils.

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