Middle Pleistocene

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The first Europeans: summary of key sites and evidences in Western Turkey

The dispersion of Homo from Africa into Eurasia and the relationship between the colonization of East Asia (Indonesia, China) and Western Europe, is still poorly understood because of the small number of fossils and the geographically scattered sites with evidences. Therefore, the research on the number of waves and the species migrating is really difficult. The discussion is even richer, if considering that some early human populations in Europe did not come from Africa only, but they could also come from Southwest Asia.

In summary, some key sites to consider are:  Sigue leyendo →

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The first Europeans: evidences in Southern Spain

We have no evidence of human presence in Europe before 1.5 million years ago. The study of the European colonization is particularly exciting in the human evolution field.

1.5 MYA the populations of Homo erectus (Homo ergaster) were growing and expanding in Africa. They were giving rise to a new species which was the first humans migrating outside Africa into Europe via the Levant Corridor and went over the Danube-Rhine valleys. Subsequent migrations did the same path in search of areas with better climate and resources.

At this moment of the Middle Pleistocene, the first human populations in Europe were a dispersed grid throughout a vast area. They were a genetic mosaic. Some of them evolved independently in response to local adaptations to environmental changes. Some of them interbred with other populations as they were incoming in further migrations.

The first Europeans

The first Europeans. Image: Roberto Sáez

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Meet the cranium of Steinheim
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Meet the cranium of Steinheim

The cranium of Steinheim, Germany, is probably the most strange mix of hominin characteristics in the European Middle Pleistocene.

It is assigned by many authors to Homo heidelbergensis, but this specimen actually supports the hypothesis against the definition of Homo heidelbergensis as a single umbrella of multiple fossils from a wide range of geographies: Mauer, Vértesszőllős, Bilzingsleben, Arago, Petralona, Bodo, Broken Hill, Dali and other Middle Pleistocene findings. These are not assigned to Homo erectus, but we do not have a full understanding of the migration flows that clearly could justify assigning all of them to just one species. Some proposals consider that Neandertals and H. sapiens may have had another chronological preceding species different from H. heidelbergensis. Steinheim is sometimes described as an early Neandertal, together with other European Middle Pleistocene specimens such as the Sima de los huesos population.

The Steinheim cranium is gracile and seems to be a female of 250-350 ka. Its size is smaller and its cranial features are less robust in comparison to other European remains like Arago XXI or Petralona 1. Actually the only clear Neandertal feature is the occipital bun, while many other features anticipates Homo sapiens: for example the presence of canine fossa, and the face which is longer, smaller and flatter than the Neandertal face.

Steinheim cranium. Photo: Roberto Sáez

Steinheim cranium. Photo: Roberto Sáez

It retains some primitive characters though, intermediate between Homo erectus and H. sapiens, such as the heavy browridges and the small cranial capacity of 1100 cc, similar to Cranium 5 from the Sima de los Huesos in Atapuerca. The quite spherical braincase is similar in shape to that of Homo sapiens.