Dental remains from Atapuerca/Ibeas (Spain) II. Morphology

Abstract

A morphological and comparative study of 68 human fossil teeth from the “Sima de los Huesos” (Sierra de Atapuerca, Ibeas de Juarros, Burgos, Spain) is presented. The Ibeas teeth share certain morphological traits with those of other western European, northwest African and eastern Asian Middle Pleistocene hominids. However, the dental morphology of the European group, in which the Ibeas human fossils are included, presents remarkable differences from that of the other groups, especially in the postcanine teeth. This fact supports the thesis that an independent hominid line was established in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene. Furthermore, the Ibeas teeth present new evidence favouring the hypothesis of a close phylogenetic relationship between the European Middle Pleistocene population and the Neandertals, and of local evolutionary continuity in Europe during the Middle and early Upper Pleistocene.