Human fossil that may be one of the oldest in Europe is discovered in Spain

Archaeologists in Spain said on Friday they had unearthed an ancient jaw that could help them look at the faces of some of Europe’s earliest human ancestors.

The surprising discovery, which could be around 1.4 million years old, could also provide vital clues to the evolution of the human face over millennia, the Atapuerca Foundation team said.

“The first week of July 2022 will go down in the history of human evolution,” the team added in a statement.

The fossilized fragment of an upper jaw and cheekbone was found near caves in the Atapuerca Mountains in the province of Burgos in northern Spain, the site of other ancient remains.

Scientists said they are still working to identify the specific type of human ancestor and determine the age of the bone.

“We have to continue our research for at least a year… It takes a long time,” José María Bermúdez de Castro, one of the team’s coordinators, told reporters.

“What we can say is that we have found a very important and interesting fossil that belongs to one of the first populations that arrived in Europe.”

Source: CNN Brasil

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