Skull fragments found in Spain point to previously unknown ancient humans

Western Europe has a new oldest face: the facial bones of an adult nicknamed “Pink” discovered in Spain are from a potential new member of the human family who lived more than 1.1 million years ago, scientists said Wednesday.

Until now, the oldest-known human species in western Europe was the slender-faced Homo antecessor, dating back around 850,000 years.

But research published in the journal Nature “introduces a new actor in the history of human evolution in Europe”, lead study author Rosa Huguet of Spain’s University of Rovira i Virgili told a press conference.

The fossilised upper jawbone and partial cheekbone of Pink were discovered at the Atapuerca archaeological site in northern Spain in 2022.

Since then, a team of Spanish scientists have been working to find out more about Pink, whose nickname is a reference to prog rock band Pink Floyd.