Evidence Hominins Were Present In Europe Far Earlier Than Previously Thought

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - Scientists have discovered new evidence of early hominin activity in Europe, indicating that hominins were present on the continent much earlier than previously believed.

Background image: Dmanisi fossils - Credit: Gerbil - CC BY 3.0 - Left bottom - Credit: Nature - Image compilation AncientPages.com

The research team, led by Ohio University Associate Professor of Anthropology Sabrina Curran, along with co-principal investigators Alexandru Petculescu from the “Emil Racovita” Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy in Bucharest, Romania, and Claire E. Terhune, an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arkansas, uncovered multiple cut-marked bones at the Graunceanu site in Romania. These marks, dating to approximately 1.95 million years ago, suggest early hominins used stone tools for meat processing, representing some of the earliest tool use evidence in Eurasia.

This discovery provides new insights into the timing and extent of hominin dispersal across Eurasia. Previous evidence indicated hominin presence in Dmanisi, Georgia, around 1.8 million years ago. However, the findings at Graunceanu push this timeline back further, suggesting hominins may have been in Eurasia at least 2 million years ago.

“The discovery of these cut marks is significant because it pushes back the timeline of hominin activity in Eurasia,” Curran said in a press release. “While evidence of stone tools has been found in other parts of the world, the presence of these marks on bones offers a rare and valuable glimpse into the behavior of early human ancestors.”

Curran and her team's research extends the work of decades of excavations in Romania, where significant fossil discoveries were made during the 1960s and 1980s. These fossils, housed at the "Emil Racovita" Institute of Speleology and the Museum of Oltenia, had been largely overlooked until Curran's international team conducted recent re-examinations.

Map of fossil localities showing evidence of hominins (either hominin fossils, lithics, or cut-marked bones) in northern Africa and Eurasia prior to 1.0 Ma. Credit: Nature

This discovery is particularly significant as it predates the renowned Dmanisi site in Georgia—previously regarded as the earliest evidence of hominin activity outside Africa—by approximately 200,000 years. Consequently, this new finding highlights Romania as a pivotal location for understanding early human ancestors' migration and behaviors.

“We didn’t initially expect to find much,” Curran explained. “But during a routine check of the collections we found several cut marked bones. This led to further investigation in collaboration with Dr. Briana Pobiner of the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Michael Pante of Colorado State University, and the discovery of other distinct marks across different bones, suggesting deliberate butchering activities.”

The findings, supported by biostratigraphic data and U-Pb dating, precisely establish the site's age. Virgil Dragusin's team used isotope analysis to reconstruct the hominins' environments, indicating seasonal temperature fluctuations and possibly more rainfall than today. Curran states this discovery suggests early hominins were widespread across Eurasia before well-known sites in Europe.

Selected images of high-confidence cut-marked specimens from the Oltet River Valley assemblage. Credit: Nature

"The Grăunceanu site represents a pivotal moment in our understanding of human prehistory," Curran said. “It demonstrates that early hominins had already begun to explore and inhabit diverse environments across Eurasia, showing an adaptability that would later play a crucial role in their survival and spread."

Curran’s team has discovered not only cut-marked bones but also fossils from a diverse array of species that inhabited Romania during the same period. These findings provide valuable insights into the environment where early humans lived. The site, which was once home to a wide variety of species, has revealed fossils of saber-toothed cats, giraffes, and even an extinct species of pangolin. This discovery underscores the remarkable biodiversity present in the region during the early Pleistocene era.

“The evidence coming out of Romania suggests that early hominins were much more adaptable than we previously thought,” Curran added. “These early humans were capable of surviving and thriving in a variety of environments.”

The study was published in the journal Nature

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer