Piecing together the story of Europe’s earliest settlers is a challenge, largely because relevant human fossils are scarce. On March 12, researchers announced the discovery of a new fossil from the excavation site of Sime del Elefante, near Burgos in Spain.
Known as ATE7-1, the new fossil consists of a partial face belonging to an ancient hominin, a biological classification that includes living humans and our closest extinct relatives, such as Neanderthals and Homo erectus. Nicknamed “Rosa” after one of her discoverers, the fossil includes part of the upper jaw, cheek and eye from an adult, and dates to between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago. As such, she represents the oldest known partial face of a hominin from western Europe.
Rosa is also a crucial piece of the puzzle explaining how and when humans first entered western Europe – and which species of hominin made those pioneering journeys.
