Oldest human remains discovered in Western Europe

MADRID/ISTANBUL

Scientists have discovered the oldest known human remains in Western Europe, estimated between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old, in Spain’s Atapuerca region.

The fossilized facial bones were found in the Burgos province in northern Spain and correspond to a newly classified human species, Homo affinis erectus, according to an article published by Spanish researchers in the journal Nature.

Scientists said the discovery suggests that at least two human species coexisted in Western Europe during the Early Pleistocene period.

Previously, Homo antecessor was considered to be the earliest known human species in Western and Central Europe. Researchers, however, now believe that Homo affinis erectus was the first species to arrive on the continent.

The earliest evidence of human settlements in Western Europe was found in the Atapuerca region. The oldest fossils in the region, dating nearly 860,000 years, were discovered in the summer of 1994 at La Gran Dolina. That excavation revealed the remains of six individuals -- two children, two adolescents and two adults --who belonged to Homo antecessor.

Scientists believe hominins first migrated to Eurasia at least 1.8 million years ago.