Chapter 7 - Human Evolution in the Middle Pleistocene

Abstract

The earliest non-ergaster/georgicus/erectus hominins in Europe are the specimens from Gran Dolina Cave, Level TD-6, in the Atapuerca Hills of northern Spain, allocated to their own species, Homo antecessor and dating to around 780,000 years ago. It has been argued that the new species evolved from H. ergaster and represents the likely stem species that gave rise to the Neanderthal lineage and to modern humans. Given the fragmentary nature of the specimens from Gran Dolina, however, their specific distinction from the later European and African H. heidelbergensis remains debatable. The supposedly distinctive features of this H. antecessor, including increased cranial capacity, reduced facial prognathism, well-developed canine fossa, and angled inferior cheekbone, are also characteristic of H. heidelbergensis. Primitive features that H. antecessor shares with H. ergaster and H. erectus include the presence of male lower canine and premolar cingula, and asymmetry in the crowns of the lower third premolars. While it is currently not possible to ascertain the phylogenetic significance of H. antecessor, we can see that the pattern of human evolution from their first appearance in Europe is not as straightforward as previously thought, especially if we consider the implied H. erectus migration into Europe, as suggested by the Italian Ceprano H. erectus specimen at around the same time as the Gran Dolina hominins in Spain make their appearance, not to mention the earlier migration into far southeastern Europe of H. ergaster.