{"id":45755,"date":"2025-03-12T14:18:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T18:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/cave-discovery-reveals-previously-unknown-prehistoric-human-population-in-europe\/12\/03\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-03-12T14:18:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T18:18:26","slug":"cave-discovery-reveals-previously-unknown-prehistoric-human-population-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/cave-discovery-reveals-previously-unknown-prehistoric-human-population-in-europe\/12\/03\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Cave discovery reveals previously unknown prehistoric human population in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Sign up for CNN\u2019s Wonder Theory science newsletter.\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters\/wonder-theory?source=nl-acq_article\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The story of human evolution in Europe has a new character.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Fossilized bone fragments unearthed in a cave in northern Spain in 2022 have revealed a previously unknown human population that lived more than 1.1 million years ago, according to new research.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Found at the Sima del Elefante site in the Atapuerca Mountains, the fossils make up a partial skull comprised of the left side of the face of an adult hominin. The mineralized bones are the earliest human fossil remains found so far in Western Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">However, it wasn\u2019t immediately obvious which species of prehistoric human the team had found, and the study describing the fossils, published Wednesday in the journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-08681-0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Nature;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Nature<\/a>, doesn\u2019t put forward a definitive answer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The team suspects the specimens belonged to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/04\/02\/world\/ancient-humans-skull-evolution-fossils-scn-trnd\/index.html?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Homo erectus;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Homo erectus<\/a>, a species well-known from fossils found in Africa and Asia but whose remains have never been conclusively found in Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThis conclusion is the most honest proposal we can make with evidence we have,\u201d Mar\u00eda Martin\u00f3n-Torres, the director of CENIEH, Spain\u2019s National Human Evolution Research Centre, told a press briefing on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cIt is cautious, but it is also a little bit daring, because we are not closing the possibility that it is maybe something different.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Original fossil, called ATE7-1, of the midface of a mystery hominin recovered at the Sima del Elefante site in the Atapuerca Mountains near Burgos, Spain. &#8211; Maria D. Guill\u00e9n\/IPHES-CERCA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Mysterious early human relatives<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The mountainous region of Spain where the fossils were found has been an important locale for paleoanthropology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the mid-1990s, scientists identified an early human relative known as <a href=\"https:\/\/australian.museum\/learn\/science\/human-evolution\/homo-antecessor\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Homo antecessor from about 80 fossils;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Homo antecessor from about 80 fossils<\/a> uncovered at a site near Sima del Elefante called Gran Dolina. Those remains date to around 850,000 years old.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">However, Martin\u00f3n-Torres said the morphology of the skull fossil found in 2022 didn\u2019t match up with the features of Homo antecessor. This archaic human had been thought to be the earliest known inhabitant of Western Europe, predating the Neanderthals, who appeared on the continent some 400,000 years ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Homo antecessor had \u201ca very modern-like face, very similar to the face we our species, Homo sapiens, have, which is vertical and flat. However, this new hominin is different,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It \u201chas a much more projecting forward face \u2026 which makes it similar to other Homo erectus (specimens),\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The team also reanalyzed a <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/21531443\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:partial lower jawbone;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">partial lower jawbone<\/a> found in 2007 at Sima del Elefante but at a slightly higher level of sediment. The study authors now believe it belonged to the same population of prehistoric humans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">However, with only small parts of the face, it was impossible to identify the species of hominin conclusively. As such, the team has assigned it to Homo affinis erectus, with affinis meaning akin to, to indicate that the fossil is closely related to, but distinct from, a known species.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWe still have to excavate the lower levels of Sima del Elefante. So who knows? We may have more surprises,\u201d Martin\u00f3n-Torres said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI think the key finding is that we are documenting for the first time a hominin population that we did not know we had in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Detective work<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Chris Stringer, a research leader in human evolution at London\u2019s Natural History Museum, said the discovery was a \u201cvery important find.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThe facial shape is distinct from that of antecessor (and H. sapiens) in traits like the less prominent nose and less delicate cheekbones, and thus more closely resembles some erectus fossils,\u201d Stringer, who wasn\u2019t involved in the research, said via email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cBut I think the authors are right to only cautiously relate the finds from Elefante to the species H. erectus. They are too incomplete for any definitive conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Reconstructing the fragmented face fossil required combining traditional techniques, such as analyzing and comparing the fossils by visual inspection, with advanced imaging and 3D analysis, the study said. The researchers did not directly date the fossils but, based on three different ways of dating the layer of sediment in which the fossils embedded, they estimated they were between 1.4 million and 1.1 million years old.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The team also recovered animal bones with cut marks and stone tools used to butcher carcasses from the site. The population would have inhabited a woodland environment with wet grasslands, which would have been rich in prey, the study said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/register?source=external-feeds_iluminar&amp;cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo&amp;registration_email_campaign=https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:CNN.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/cave-discovery-reveals-earliest-known-162125094.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sign up for CNN&rsquo;s Wonder Theory science newsletter.&nbsp;Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. The story of<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/cave-discovery-reveals-previously-unknown-prehistoric-human-population-in-europe\/12\/03\/2025\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45755"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}