Homo antecessor

Homo antecessor is an extinct human species known chiefly from fossils at Gran Dolina in Spain, dating to roughly 850,000 years ago. Its place in human evolution remains disputed.

Gran Dolina: A cave site in Spain’s Atapuerca complex containing the principal fossil remains of Homo antecessor. Its TD6 layer yielded the species’ defining fossils and evidence of ancient occupation.
Homo antecessor craniofacial anatomy: The facial and skull traits described from Homo antecessor fossils, including features resembling both earlier and later humans. Its combination of traits underlies debates about the species’ evolutionary position.
Homo erectus: An extinct human species that spread across parts of Africa and Eurasia beginning nearly two million years ago. It is one proposed ancestral population for Homo antecessor.
Hominin taxonomy: The classification of humans and their extinct relatives into species and broader groups. Whether Homo antecessor deserves separate species status depends on how fossil variation is classified.
Atapuerca Mountains: A range in northern Spain containing caves with an extensive record of human occupation and fossils. The Gran Dolina discovery belongs to this broader archaeological landscape.
Homo antecessor dental anatomy: The tooth and jaw characteristics used to describe and compare Homo antecessor fossils. Dental evidence is among the most informative material for identifying the species.
Homo heidelbergensis: A name applied to Middle Pleistocene human fossils whose taxonomic boundaries remain debated. Some interpretations place Homo antecessor near the ancestry of populations grouped under this name.
Last common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals: The ancestral population from which modern humans and Neanderthals later diverged. Some hypotheses place Homo antecessor near this ancestral population; others reject that connection.
TD6 layer: A sedimentary layer at Gran Dolina containing early human fossils and stone tools. Most fossils assigned to Homo antecessor come from this deposit.
Paleoproteomics: The study of ancient proteins preserved in fossils to investigate biological relationships. Protein evidence has offered an independent way to assess the fossils’ affinities.

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