Fragments of bone discovered in an ancient cave in Spain have been identified as the oldest known human facial remains found to date in Western Europe, researchers report.
The fossilized remains consist of the left cheekbone and upper jaw of an adult from an extinct human species that lived and died on the Iberian Peninsula between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago.
The findings suggest that at least two types of early humans settled in the region during the early Pleistocene epoch when the cave was situated in a humid forest, teeming with wildlife and crossed by rivers and streams.
"This study introduces a new player in the story of human evolution in Europe," said Dr. Rosa Huguet of Rovira i Virgili University in southern Catalonia, who helped uncover the fossils in the Sima del Elefante ("Pit of the Elephant") cave near Atapuerca, Burgos.
Early humans reached Eurasia from Africa at least 1.8 million years ago, as evidenced by five skulls from that period found in Dmanisi, Georgia. These skulls are linked to Homo erectus, the earliest human species known to have migrated out of Africa.
Until now, the oldest known human remains in Western Europe were jaw and tooth fragments from Sima del Elefante, estimated to be 1.1 to 1.2 million years old. Younger remains, dated to 800,000 years ago, were found in the nearby Gran Dolina ("Giant Pit") cave. The distinct features of these fossils led researchers to classify them as a separate species, Homo antecessor, or "Pioneer Man."
In a study published in Nature, the Spanish research team argues that the newly discovered remains are more primitive than Homo antecessor but share similarities with Homo erectus. Given the uncertainty regarding the exact classification of the fossil, the team has designated the species as Homo affinis erectus, reflecting its close relation to the earlier human species.
A nickname inspired by Pink Floyd
The fossil has not only been given a scientific name but also an informal one. Researchers have dubbed it "Pink," after the band Pink Floyd. The inspiration comes from the album The Dark Side of the Moon, which in Spanish is translated as La cara oculta de la luna, meaning "The Hidden Face of the Moon", a nod to the fossil's partial facial structure.
Dr. María Martinón-Torres, director of the National Research Center on Human Evolution in Burgos, noted that one of Pink's distinctive features is a flatter nasal structure compared to Homo antecessor, which exhibited more modern facial characteristics and prominent nasal bones, akin to Homo sapiens.
Chris Stringer, a leading researcher in human evolution at the Natural History Museum in London, called the fossil "a very important discovery." In 2023, Stringer and other scientists identified a period of extreme cooling around 1.1 million years ago that may have driven early humans out of Western Europe. This could explain the presence of a distinct population later found at Sima del Elefante.
Excavations at Sima del Elefante paint a picture of vast meadows and dense forests over 1.1 million years ago, abundant with oak, pine, juniper, and walnut trees. Rivers that crisscrossed the landscape attracted voles, mice, hippopotamuses, bison, and deer. Quartz and flint tools were also found alongside animal bones bearing cut marks, indicating butchery.
Additional clues about early human behavior come from a partial tooth discovered in Pink's fossil. A groove running along the crown suggests early humans may have used rudimentary toothpicks.
"This is another step toward understanding Europe's first inhabitants," said Dr. José María Bermúdez de Castro, co-director of the Atapuerca Project. "We now know that this early species bore similarities to specimens many classify as Homo erectus. However, the remains from Sima del Elefante exhibit a very specific combination of traits. More fossils from contemporary sites must be found before we can draw firmer conclusions about the identity of this species."
