Fragments of a facial bone against a black background
Researchers discovered the facial fragments in a cave in northern Spain. National Research Center for Human Evolution
Researchers in Spain have discovered mysterious fossilized facial fragments that belonged to an unknown early human species. The bones are the oldest human fossils discovered in Western Europe, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature.
The team uncovered the remains—an upper jawbone and a partial cheek bone—while excavating a cave in northern Spain in 2022. The cavern, known as Sima del Elefante (or “elephant chasm”), is located within the Sierra de Atapuerca archaeological site, which has revealed many other fossils.
The facial fragments were buried roughly 60 feet deep, along with stone tools and animal bones that showed signs of butchering. The cave is located in a natural corridor between mountain ranges, and the early humans who lived there likely had access to everything they needed to survive, including water and animals to hunt.
“Although the quartz and flint tools found are simple, they suggest an effective subsistence strategy and highlight the hominins’ ability to exploit the resources available in their environment,” says study co-author Xosé Pedro Rodríguez-Álvarez, an archaeologist at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution, in a statement.
So far, researchers have been able to determine that the facial fragments belonged to an adult, but they don’t know if the individual was male or female. The remains are 1.1 million to 1.4 million years old, and they add to the understanding of when and how early humans settled Western Europe.
The team nicknamed the individual “Pink” after the study’s lead author, Rosa Huguet, an archaeologist at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution who served as the excavation’s coordinator, reports NBC News’ Evan Bush. The name was also partly inspired by the English rock band Pink Floyd, according to Agence France-Presse.
Scaffolding in a cave for archaeological research
The remains were buried 60 feet deep alongside stone tools and butchered animal bones. National Research Center for Human Evolution
Initially, the team thought Pink might have belonged to Homo antecessor, a species with thin, vertical facial features similar to Homo sapiens. Researchers had previously found H. antecessor remains at a nearby site.
But after two years of examination using advanced imaging and 3D analysis techniques, they realized that Pink’s features didn’t seem to match those of H. antecessor.
Instead, the individual’s facial features—such as a flat and undeveloped nasal structure—appeared to be more primitive. Researchers still don’t know what species Pink represents, but they suspect the individual could be related to Homo erectus.
“We are documenting a previously unknown human population in Europe,” said study co-author María Martinón-Torres, a paleoanthropologist at Spain’s National Research Center for Human Evolution, during a press call, per NBC News.
The team theorizes that the unknown species arrived in Western Europe before H. antecessor, but that the two species probably overlapped.
From fossils found in Spain, researchers have deduced that H. antecessor lived in Western Europe between 1.2 million and 800,000 years ago.
The oldest human ancestor found anywhere in Europe is Homo georgicus. Scientists found 1.8 million-year-old H. georgicus fossils in Georgia, which suggests early humans settled Eurasia from east to west.
If Pink does represent a brand new species, it could provide researchers with an evolutionary bridge between H. georgicus and H. antecessor.
“We can start piecing together what that population could have looked like, and that’s a great value, because you start seeing how anatomy changes over time,” Rodrigo Lacruz, a molecular pathobiologist at New York University who was not involved with the research, tells NBC News.