Archeologist discovers fragments of a skull considered 'the oldest face in western Europe'

Academics have said they have found "the earliest human face of western Europe", after fragments of a skull were found at the Spanish archaeological cave site of Sima del Elefante.

The skull of the individual, who has been given the nickname "Pink" by researchers, has been found to be between 1.1 and 1.4 million years old, with the specimen in question - known as fossil ATE7-1, comprising "a substantial part of the maxilla [jawbone] and zygomatic bone [cheekbone] from the left side of an adult individual".

In a piece published in Nature in March, the team of academics write: "This finding enables us to not only learn about the facial morphology of early Europeans, but also increase our knowledge of the evolutionary history of our ancestors in Europe and the roots of H. antecessor."

In simple terms, the 'H. antecessor' is the Homo antecessor, an extinct species of early human known to have inhabited a set of caves in Atapuerca, northern Spain.

Another species, known as Homo erectus, was the first human species to emerge from Africa, and the study authors suggest "Pink" is close to this specific hominin, assigning it the description of Homo affinis erectus.

The discovery comes just months after scientists discovered the oldest ever DNA from modern humans, obtained from bone remains found in the German town of Ranis, with findings published in Nature back in December.

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