Hominid Species Time Line

Page 27

Homo antecessor
780,000 years ago—the first Europeans

 Homo antecessor, “Pioneering man,” is thus far the oldest member of a Homo species found in Europe.  A virtual treasure trove of bones was discovered in the mid-1990’s in Spain, and almost all the remains of this species are from this site at Gran Dolina in Sierra de Atapuerca region of northern Spain, and from another site near Burgos in Spain.  The site may represent a burial place of some kind — or a site for ritual cannibalism or other rites — that was used over many centuries, perhaps even thousands of years.  Many of the bones show scratch marks from stone tools, indicating they had been butchered or de-fleshed for some reason.

 From the 80 bones and six individuals recovered, Homo antecessor is estimated to have been about 5 ½ feet tall, and males may have weighed upwards of 200 pounds.  This was a fairly robust species, with brain capacities in the 1000-1150 cubic centimeter range, the largest almost in the lower range of modern humans.  Their teeth show little development from erectus/ergaster, but their ear structures are quite modern.

 The partial skeleton of a child aged 10-11 was among the individuals found, and this specimen shows the same developmental patterns of modern humans.  It is speculated that juveniles of this species may have progressed through the different stages faster than ours do, but the actual duration of the juvenile period would be almost impossible to determine.  In any case, we know that humans have gone through roughly the same developmental stages for many thousands, if not millions, of years.

References:

Homo antecessor on TalkOrigins.org