Spaniards discover remains of oldest Western European hominid

Science News

Mar 26, 2008, 18:19 GMT

Madrid - Spanish scientists said Wednesday they have discovered remains of the oldest hominid known in Western Europe so far.

An undated handout picture issued by the Atapuerca Research Team (EIA) on 26 March 2008 shows the ATE 9-1, the front part of a human jaw, found at the Atapuerca site, in Burgos, northern Spain. The chief paleontologists of the Atapuerca site have published in the scientific magazine 'Nature' the conclusions of their latest discoveries at the site, in which they corroborate their thesis that the oldest European lived in this region. EPA/JORDI MESTRE/EIA/

An undated handout picture issued by the Atapuerca Research Team (EIA) on 26 March 2008 shows the ATE 9-1, the front part of a human jaw, found at the Atapuerca site, in Burgos, northern Spain. The chief paleontologists of the Atapuerca site have published in the scientific magazine 'Nature' the conclusions of their latest discoveries at the site, in which they corroborate their thesis that the oldest European lived in this region. EPA/JORDI MESTRE/EIA/The teeth and lower jaw bone are estimated to be up to 1.2 million years old. The discovery, which is presented in the journal Nature, was made by palaeontologist Eudald Carbonell and his colleagues in a complex of human fossil sites in Atapuerca, northern Spain. The lithic tools found near the remains show signs of flint knapping and hammering, and animal bones show cut marks. The discoverers assign the fossils to the species Homo antecessor, a possible ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans.

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