title: The first hominin of Europe.
abstract: The earliest hominin occupation of Europe is one of the most debated topics in palaeoanthropology. However, the purportedly oldest of the Early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia lack precise age control and contain stone tools rather than human fossil remains. Here we report the discovery of a human mandible associated with an assemblage of Mode 1 lithic tools and faunal remains bearing traces of hominin processing, in stratigraphic level TE9 at the site of the Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca, Spain. Level TE9 has been dated to the Early Pleistocene (approximately 1.2-1.1 Myr), based on a combination of palaeomagnetism, cosmogenic nuclides and biostratigraphy. The Sima del Elefante site thus emerges as the oldest, most accurately dated record of human occupation in Europe, to our knowledge. The study of the human mandible suggests that the first settlement of Western Europe could be related to an early demographic expansion out of Africa. The new evidence, with previous findings in other Atapuerca sites (level TD6 from Gran Dolina), also suggests that a speciation event occurred in this extreme area of the Eurasian continent during the Early Pleistocene, initiating the hominin lineage represented by the TE9 and TD6 hominins.
authors: Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Area de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Plaça Imperial Tarraco 1, 43005 Tarragona, Spain. eudald.carbonell@urv.cat
authors: Eudald
authors: E
authors: Carbonell
authors: José M
authors: JM
authors: Bermúdez de Castro
authors: Josep M
authors: JM
authors: Parés
authors: Alfredo
authors: A
authors: Pérez-González
authors: Gloria
authors: G
authors: Cuenca-Bescós
authors: Andreu
authors: A
authors: Ollé
authors: Marina
authors: M
authors: Mosquera
authors: Rosa
authors: R
authors: Huguet
authors: Jan
authors: J
authors: van der Made
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Rosas
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Sala
authors: Josep
authors: J
authors: Vallverdú
authors: Nuria
authors: N
authors: García
authors: Darryl E
authors: DE
authors: Granger
authors: María
authors: M
authors: Martinón-Torres
authors: Xosé P
authors: XP
authors: Rodríguez
authors: Greg M
authors: GM
authors: Stock
authors: Josep M
authors: JM
authors: Vergès
authors: Ethel
authors: E
authors: Allué
authors: Francesc
authors: F
authors: Burjachs
authors: Isabel
authors: I
authors: Cáceres
authors: Antoni
authors: A
authors: Canals
authors: Alfonso
authors: A
authors: Benito
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Díez
authors: Marina
authors: M
authors: Lozano
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Mateos
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Navazo
authors: Jesús
authors: J
authors: Rodríguez
authors: Jordi
authors: J
authors: Rosell
authors: Juan L
authors: JL
authors: Arsuaga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005580:Fossils; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D049690:History, Ancient; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification*; D008322:Mammals / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013030:Spain; D013672:Technology