New dating research led by Griffith University has confirmed the great antiquity of fossil remains attributed to a species of human called Homo antecessor found in Spain.
The research, published in Quaternary Geochronology, describes the first direct dating study of Homo antecessor fossil remains found within Unit TD6 at Atapuerca Gran Dolina site, Spain.
The fossil has been directly dated to between 772,000-949,000 years ago, which is consistent with previous indirect estimates and makes it the oldest known fossil human species in Western Europe. While a few older human fossils have been found in Western Europe, they could not be attributed to any specific species, in contrast with the Gran Dolina remains.
Atapuerca Gran Dolina site, Burgos, Spain. Credits: M. Duval.
The work, led by Dr Mathieu Duval and Professor Rainer Grün, researchers at Griffith’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE), involved an international team from Spain, Australia, France and China and brought together
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