Million Year Old European
Archaeologists have discovered the jaw-bone from a human-like ‘hominin’ (I rather preferred the old term, ‘hominid’ — it sounded less like ‘a word that sounds like another’). Found in Spain, it has been dated to 1.2 million years ago, making it the earliest hominin fossil from Europe. Researchers say it was from an individual 30 to 40 years old, but the sex has not been determined.
Dubbed Homo antecessor there have been a few other finds of this species, but not so old as this example. They appeared to have hunted large game, and used stone tools to remove the meat from the bones, and then to crack-open the large bones to get the marrow. They are not believed to be ancestral to Homo sapiens, but may have been ancestors of Homo neanderthalensis. Other research has suggested that modern man came out of Africa at a later date, and found Europe already occupied by Neandertals — a close cousin. Not close enough, however, for any significant interbreeding, according to recent DNA studies.