Discovery of partial face fossil belongs to oldest human ancestor in Western Europe

A fragment of a face from a human ancestor is the oldest in Western Europe, according to the results of a new study published this week.

The incomplete skull — a section of the left cheek bone and upper jaw – was found in northern Spain in 2022 and published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

Archaeologists believe the fossil is between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old. 

Researchers hope the discovery will provide some new insights about the first inhabitants of Western Europe during the Early Pleistocene epoch. Much of the available information from Western Europe is confined to the Iberian Peninsula. 

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This photo provided by the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in March 2025 shows archaeological excavation work at the Sima del Elefante site in Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain, where a fossil from a hominin between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old was found.  (Maria D. Guillén/IPHES-CERCA via AP)

While a collection of older fossils from early human ancestors was previously found in the country of Georgia, the Spanish fossil is the first evidence that clearly shows human ancestors “were taking excursions into Europe” at that time, Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program, told The Associated Press. 

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Still, there is no evidence that the earliest arrivals stayed there long, Potts said, noting that they may have ventured into other locations and then died out.

This image provided by the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in March 2025, shows a fossil of the left midface of a hominin, right, between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old, recovered from the Sima del Elefante site in Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain, and a mirrored simulation of the other side.  (Maria D. Guillén/IPHES-CERCA, Elena Santos/CENIEH via AP)

The partial skull bears similarities to Homo erectus, but there are also some anatomical differences, said study co-author Rosa Huguet, an archaeologist at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in Tarragona, Spain.

This photo provided by the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in March 2025, shows Dr. Rosa Huguet, a researcher at IPHES-CERCA and professor at Rovira i Virgili University, with the fossil of a hominin between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old, found at an archaeological site in Spain.  (Maria D. Guillén/IPHES-CERCA via AP)

Homo erectus arose around 2 million years ago and moved from Africa to regions of Asia and Europe, with the last individuals dying out around 100,000 years ago, said Potts.

This image provided by the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in March 2025, shows a fossil of the left midface of a hominin between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old recovered from the Sima del Elefante site in Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain.  (Maria D. Guillén/IPHES-CERCA via AP)

It can be challenging to identify which group of early humans a fossil find belongs to if there’s only a single fragment versus many bones that show a range of features, said University of Zurich paleoanthropologist Christoph Zollikofer, who was not involved in the study.

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The same cave complex in Spain’s Atapuerca Mountains where the new fossil was found also previously yielded other significant clues to the ancient human past. Researchers working in the region have also found more recent fossils of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.