The earliest fossil of the human face from Western Europe, the nickname “Pink”, discovered in the Spanish pit

Researchers in Spain have discovered Fossil from a potential new prehistoric member of the human family tree, and they say they are the earliest known remains of faces discovered in Western Europe.

The bone of the adult’s person was found at the Atapuerca archeological site in the north of Spain in 2022. Since then, a team of scientists has been working on knowing more about Hominin, which they have transcended Pink. Researchers shared their discoveries in a study in the magazine Naturewhich was announced on Tuesday.

Pink remains are dated between 1.1 and 1.4 million years, the researchers said.

The study “introduces a new actor in the history of human evolution in Europe,” said study author Rosa Huguet of the University of Rovir and Virgili, at a press conference, according to the AFP news agency.

The discovery suggests that early people settled in Europe, traveling from the east side of the continent to the west, about 1.4 million years ago, researchers said. So far the oldest known human species in Western Europe has been Homo antecesor. Experts found Homo antecesor Remains that are about 850,000 years.

The oldest human ancestor found in any territory of Europe is the people of Dmanisi, or Homo GeorgicusA group that lived in the present state of Georgia. The remains of this species were dated 1.8 million years ago. They are the first members of the human family who are known to have traveled from Africa to Europe.

“Pink” face

Fossilized Upper Čeljuska and Partial Jagodica was dug from a layer of sludge and mud of 52 meters deep in Sima del Elefante, or “Elephant Cave”, a place less than 1000 feet than the fossil fossil fossil from fossil fossil fossil Homo Antecessor They were discovered in 1994. The bones were not enough for researchers to determine Pink -aged age or gender.

From these fossilized bones, researchers were able to use 3D recording techniques to create a pink face model. Face is more “projected forward and more robust” from a modern human face or a Homo antecesor Faces, said Maria Martinon-Torres, director of the Spanish National Research Center on Human Evolution, told AFP.

Pink’s face carries some similarities with human ancestors Homo erectus, Researchers said. This species stretched for almost 2 million years and Has the first human species evolved

Known proportions of the human body and use fire and tools. The remains of species were found in Africa, Asia and Europe.

But similarities were not strong enough for scientists to confirm that Pink was a member of that kind. Instead, they suggested that pink could belong to the new species they called Homo ‘affinis’ erectus.

“This is the most sincere proposal that we can give with the evidence we have,” Martinon-Torta said, according to AFP.

Scientists were also able to analyze small stone tools and animal bones found at the excavation site to find out more about how pink lived. The environment at the time was a humid forest landscape, and the early human population lived along horses, ancient cattle, monkeys and hipposes, researchers said. The area also probably had a lot of water, which would make it an “ideal” place to occur, Huguet said at a press conference.

Researchers suggested that the species can be a bridge between Homo Georgicus species and Homo antecesor type. Study co-author Jose Maria Bermudez de Castro told AFP that it was likely that the species “probably disappeared” during the severe global cooling era that occurred almost 900,000 years ago.

Research at the excavation site will continue, scientists said.

contributed to this report.