Long before we set foot on the continent – and pulsate Neanderthals to it by C of thousands of years – other species of ancient human beings once stalked the forests of Europe . Now research worker have been able to concretely date the oldest human fossils ever feel in Western Europe , and resolve that they arean telling 1 million yearsold .
The fossils were get a line in a cave system in northern Spain , and had antecedently been attribute to the earliest known hominin species find in Europe , Homoantecessor . Using sediments , along with the castanets of animals found alongside the human fossil , researchers were able-bodied to make an estimation of how old they thought they were , but a new subject field published inQuaternary Geochronologyhas give conclusive engagement .
Using one of the teeth of the man fossil , a team of scientists from Spain , France , China , and Australia has go out the remains to between 772,000 and 949,000 years one-time , making them the oldest human corpse ever find in Western Europe . A few hominin fogy that are believed to be older have been found at other land site , but none of them can be assign to a specific species .
It is guess thatHomo antecessorwas the first human species to make it into Europe . Other ancient hominins had already transmigrate out of Africa – such asHomo erectus – but it is believed that they went east , eventually make it to China and Southeast Asia , where they were incredibly successful .
ButH. antecessoris thought to have gone in the other focussing . Now it is confirmed that by a million long time ago they were in Spain . This is fascinating , as it fit in perfectly with what is believed to be the older exercise set of human footprintsfound outside of Africa . Uncovered by a strong tide on the coast of Norfolk , England in 2013 , the step were preserved in the soft backbone and dated to an astonishing 800,000 year old . Within a matter of week they were destroyed by the return tide .
As one population ofH. antecessormoved into Europe and another remained in Africa , it is potentially the last common root between our own metal money and Neanderthals . This is difficult to be sure of , however , as some debate that it could be an former form ofHomo heidelbergensis , while others still recall that the specie may instead play a species entirely within the Neanderthals own bloodline .
The only way that these questions are probable to be resolved is if we discover more skeletons , and potentially extract ancient DNA from fossils .
