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Archaeologists uncover the oldest known partial face fossil of a human ancestor in western Europe

This image provided by the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in March 2025, shows a fossil of the left midface of a hominin, right, between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old, recovered from the Sima del Elefante site in Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain, and a mirrored simulation of the other side. (Maria D. Guillén/IPHES-CERCA, Elena Santos/CENIEH via AP) This image provided by the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in March 2025, shows a fossil of the left midface of a hominin, right, between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old, recovered from the Sima del Elefante site in Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain, and a mirrored simulation of the other side. (Maria D. Guillén/IPHES-CERCA, Elena Santos/CENIEH via AP)

By CHRISTINA LARSON / AP Science Writer March 13, 2025 2 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) — A fossil of a partial face from a human ancestor is the oldest in western Europe, archaeologists reported Wednesday.

The incomplete skull — a section of the left cheek bone and upper jaw – was found in northern Spain in 2022. The fossil is between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old, according to research published in the journal Nature.

“The fossil is exciting,” said Eric Delson, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study. “It’s the first time we have significant remains older than 1 million years old in western Europe.”

A collection of older fossils from early human ancestors was previously found in Georgia, near the crossroads of eastern Europe and Asia. Those are estimated to be 1.8 million years old.

The Spanish fossil is the first evidence that clearly shows human ancestors “were taking excursions into Europe” at that time, said Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program.