Walter Finch
RESEARCHERS have made an archeological breakthrough after they found human remains in Spain that date back 1.3 million years.
The discovery, made in Granada’s Orce region, marks the oldest human remains ever in Europe, and suggests that early humans may have migrated to Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar.
The team, led by Lluís Gibert from the University of Barcelona’s Faculty of Earth Sciences, employed geological dating techniques to determine the age of human remains found in three Orce sites in the Baza basin.
The findings support the theory that humans entered Europe via the Strait of Gibraltar rather than through the Mediterranean via Asia.
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The dating was achieved through paleomagnetic analysis, a method that dates rocks by studying the ancient magnetic fields recorded in their minerals, which align with Earth’s magnetic field when the rocks formed.
This technique allowed researchers to establish precise time periods, revealing that the sedimentary sequence in Orce is exceptionally long and undisturbed by erosion, making it a unique site for such studies.
“The uniqueness of these sites lies in their stratification within a lengthy sedimentary sequence, more than eighty metres long,” Gibert explained.
This long sequence provided the researchers with the opportunity to develop detailed paleomagnetic records.
They pinpointed the Venta Micena site as the oldest with human presence in Europe, dating it at 1.32 million years.
The Barranco Leon site followed at 1.28 million years, and Fuente Nueva 3 at 1.23 million years.
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These findings suggest that the Orce sites predate the famous Sima del Elefante site in Atapuerca, Burgos, by 200,000 to 400,000 years.
The groundbreaking research favours the Strait of Gibraltar as the migration route for early humans into Europe.
Similarities between lithic industries in Orce and those in North Africa, as well as the presence of African fauna like Hippopotamus and Theropithecus oswaldi, bolster this theory.
“We also defend the hypothesis of the Gibraltar route because no older evidence has been found along the alternative route,” Gibert added.
The researchers note a significant time difference between the oldest human occupations in Asia (1.8 million years ago) and Europe (1.3 million years ago).
This suggests that early humans took over half a million years to cross biogeographical barriers and reach Europe.
Gibert conclude: “These differences in human expansion can be explained by Europe’s isolation from Asia and Africa.
“Humanity arrived in Europe when the necessary maritime technology was developed, similar to the early migration to the island of Flores in Indonesia.”
