Scientists have discovered the oldest human face in Western Europe, potentially rewriting the story of human evolution.
The ancient human nicknamed ‘Pink’ lived in Spain’s Iberian Peninsula between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago.
That means Pink easily predates the arrival of modern humans, Homo sapiens, on the continent just 45,000 years ago.
The fossilised remains are distinct from other ancient hominin remains found in the area, raising the possibility that Pink could be an entirely new human species.
The fragments of this hominin face were discovered in 2022 inside a cave called Sima del Elefante, where some of Europe’s most ancient human remains have been found.
However, Pink appears to have a different structure from Homo antecessor, another human species which lived in the same area up to 860,000 years ago.
Instead, he resembles Homo erectus, a far more ancient human species which emerged in Africa two million years ago and was the first to walk on two legs like a modern human.
The researchers believe that Pink’s species could have been among the very first humans to arrive in Europe before being wiped out by a sudden shift in the climate.
Scientists have discovered the oldest human face in Western Europe. Nicknamed ‘Pink’ this human ancestor lived in Spain 1.1-1.4 million years ago
Through careful reconstruction, researchers found that Pink’s face (pictured) doesn’t match that of the Home antecessor species which lived in the cave up to 850,000 years ago. This could mean it is a new species of human
Composed of several broken fragments and parts of two teeth, the remains found at Sima del Elefante are believed to be the oldest example of human facial bones found in Western Europe.
The researchers nicknamed the individual ‘Pink’ after Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon, which is ‘La cara oculta de la luna’ in Spanish, where ‘cara oculta’ means ‘hidden face’.
When Pink’s remains were discovered, scientists initially thought that they would belong to one of the other ancient human species found in the area.
Within the cave, researchers have previously found the remains of Homo antecessor dating back 860,000 years.
By looking at the thousands of other animal fossils found in the same layer of the cave alongside the traces left in the soil by periodic shifts in Earth’s magnetic field, the researchers dated Pink’s remains to between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago.
Additionally, after carefully reconstructing the remains, it became clear that Pink’s face didn’t have the same structure as any ancient human species from the area.
Co-author Dr María Martinón, director of the National Centre for Research on Human Evolution, says: ‘Homo antecessor shares with Homo sapiens a more modern-looking face and a prominent nasal bone structure, whereas Pink’s facial features are more primitive, resembling Homo erectus, particularly in its flat and underdeveloped nasal structure.’
Homo erectus was the first human species to develop an upright gait and posture like a modern human and was the first to use stone hand tools for cutting.
The remains of Pink were found within the Sima del Elefante cave system (pictured) where many of the oldest human remains in Europe have been found
After emerging in Africa around two million years ago, this species migrated out into Asia and even made its way into Eastern Europe.
At a site in modern-day Georgia, palaeontologists have discovered five skulls belonging to Homo erectus dating back 1.8 million years.
However, the Western European fossil record is extremely bare before 800,000 years ago.
Scientists have only found a single tooth and some stone tools dating to 1.4 million years ago in Spain, along with a jawbone at Sima del Elefante dated to 1.1 million years ago.
Near Pink’s remains, researchers also discovered stone tools made of quartz and flint, alongside animal bones bearing clear cut marks.
This indicates that Pink and their relatives had already developed a simple tool ‘industry’ and knew how to butcher animals for meat just like Homo erectus.
Study co-author Dr Xosé Pedro Rodríguez, of the University of Rovira i Virgili (URV), says: ‘They suggest an effective subsistence strategy and highlight the hominins’ ability to exploit the resources available in their environment.’
If Pink really is a member of Homo erectus, then this find would show that this human ancestor species spread itself far wider and far earlier than scientists had previously thought.
In the same sediment layer where Pink was found, researchers also found a number of simple stone cutting tools. This shows that Pink’s species were already using making and using tools
The researchers found bones with cut and scrape marks, which shows that Pink was capable of using tools to butcher animals
Pink bears a strong resemblance to Homo erectus (pictured), which was an even more ancient human species which first appeared in Africa two million years ago. The researchers dubbed Pink Homo affinis erectus’, using the Latin term ‘affinis’ to mean that it has an affinity with the known species
However, the researchers aren’t convinced that Pink is just another member of this human ancestor species.
Although their skulls are similar, Pink’s facial structure is narrower than examples of Homo erectus found across Asia and Africa.
But, with only fragments of bone and two worn teeth to go on, the researchers cannot yet be certain that Pink is an entirely new species.
Instead, they opted to designate Pink as ‘Homo affinis erectus’, using the Latin term ‘affinis’ to mean that it has an affinity with the known species.
Dr Martinón says: ‘The evidence is still insufficient for a definitive classification, which is why we adopted the name Homo affinis erectus.
She adds that this was done to ‘acknowledge Pink’s affinities with Homo erectus while leaving open the possibility that the remains may belong to another species.’
The researchers argue that Pink’s species was part of the first wave of human migration into Western Europe.
Yet, that first migration appears to have been cut off abruptly when the climate of the Iberian Peninsula suddenly changed.
The researchers believe that Pink might have been part of the first wave of human migration into Western Europe before being wiped out of the area by a climatic shift. Pictured: Lead researcher Professor Rosa Huget with Pink’s facial bones
At the time Pink lived in Spain, the Sierra de Atapuerca region would have featured a mix of wooded areas, wet grasslands, and seasonal water sources – making for a resource-rich environment for ancient humans.
However, previous studies suggest that there may have been a sudden climatic shift around 1.1 million years ago which could have wiped out the human population.
That could explain why there is such a large gap in the fossil record between Pink and the later Homo antecessor remains.
Dr Eudald Carbonell, a palaeontologist from URV and co-director of the project, says: ‘Evidence for different hominin populations in Western Europe during the Early Pleistocene suggests that this region was a key point in the evolutionary history of the genus Homo.’
