Abstract
Comparative analyses between Gran Dolina-TD6 and Sima de los Huesos (SH) dental samples from Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain) suggest that hominins represented by these samples belonged to two very different populations and even to distinct paleospecies. Gran Dolina-TD6 hominins ( Homo antecessor) have been dated to about 0.8 million years ago (mya), whereas a new radiometric dating of the SH hominins ( Homo heidelbergensis) suggests an interval of 0.4–0.5 mya for these hominins. Current results as well as the relative temporal closeness between the populations represented by Gran Dolina-TD6 and SH favour a replacement scenario hypothesis (or possibly a crossbreeding scenario) for the Europeans during the early Middle Pleistocene. Although the information available from the European Lower Pleistocene populations is limited (Ceprano and Gran Dolina-TD6), current data are noteworthy and their combination with archaeological evidence will stimulate future discussions on the dynamics of the first European settlements.
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