New fossil discoveries at Gran Dolina cave in northern Spain show that cannibalism practised by an ancient human relative called Homo antecessor was not limited to children, as earlier evidence had suggested. Researchers recovered two dozen bones and teeth belonging to this now extinct species, which lived in Europe between roughly 1.2 million and 770,000 years ago, and found that many of the newly uncovered remains came from adults rather than the young, defenceless individuals identified in previous excavations. Several of the bone fragments carried cut marks consistent with the use of stone tools, adding fresh detail to what is already considered the oldest known evidence of cannibalism practised for nutritional reasons among human relatives.
What researchers found in the new Gran Dolina excavation
According to astatement from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution, known by its Spanish acronym IPHES, the newly recovered remains include fragments of a skull, spine, arm and leg bones, along with three teeth belonging to several individuals. The bones were found at Gran Dolina, part of the wider Sierra de Atapuerca archaeological complex, a site recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage location for its exceptional record of early human evolution in Europe.The total number of individuals identified at Gran Dolina has now risen to at least 13, with roughly half of them adults. Palmira Saladié, a biological anthropologist at IPHES who coordinated the excavation, said in the institute’s statement that the discovery of more adult individuals, some of whom also carry cut marks, shows that cannibalism at the site was not restricted to younger members of the group.
Why earlier evidence pointed mainly to children
For decades, most of the evidence of cannibalism uncovered at Gran Dolina came from the bones of infants and juveniles. A 2010 study on the site had suggested that younger individuals may have made easier targets, since children and juveniles from a rival group would have been simpler to capture and kill than adults. This pattern shaped much of the scientific understanding of Homo antecessor’s cannibalistic behaviour for years.The newly excavated adult remains complicate that earlier picture. Andreu Ollé, an archaeologist at IPHES, said in the institute’s statement that the increase in the number of individuals identified at the site, particularly the addition of more adults, allows researchers to understand this ancient population from a far more complete perspective than was previously possible.
How scientists confirmed the cannibalism at Gran Dolina
Evidence supporting cannibalism at the site extends well beyond the human bones themselves. According to IPHES, excavations at Gran Dolina have also uncovered an assemblage of stone tools made from flint, quartzite and sandstone, alongside animal bones from species including hyenas, beavers, deer, horses and rhinoceroses. The butchering techniques identified on these animal remains closely match the cut marks found on the human bones, suggesting the same tools and methods were used on both.Some of the human bones recovered from the site also carry human bite marks, which researchers consider some of the most reliable physical evidence that the bodies found at Gran Dolina were actually consumed rather than simply subjected to ritual defleshing or other practices that leave similar cut marks without clear evidence of eating.
What remains unknown about why Homo antecessor practised cannibalism
Despite decades of research confirming that cannibalism took place at Gran Dolina, the underlying reason for the practice remains unresolved. Researchers hope the newly discovered adult remains will help clarify whether the behaviour was driven primarily by nutritional necessity, conflict between rival groups, or some other social or cultural factor specific to Homo antecessor communities.Marina Mosquera, an archaeologist at IPHES, said in the institute’s statement that excavation of this new area at Gran Dolina has only just begun, and that the initial results already point to considerable scientific potential for further discoveries. Researchers are now carrying out additional analysis on the recovered bones to explore questions around age-related differences in how cannibalism was practised, the number and duration of individual cannibalistic episodes, and the broader social organisation of Homo antecessor groups.
Why Gran Dolina remains central to understanding early human behaviour
Gran Dolina has produced some of the clearest and most extensively studied evidence of cannibalism among any early human relative, making it a key reference point for researchers studying violence, survival strategies and social structure among ancient hominin populations. The site’s location within the broader Atapuerca complex, already significant for having yielded some of the earliest known human fossils in Western Europe, adds further weight to its role in reconstructing how early human relatives lived, competed and, in this case, treated members of their own species after death.As excavation of the newly identified area continues, researchers expect the growing collection of adult and juvenile remains from Gran Dolina to offer a considerably fuller picture of Homo antecessor than earlier, more limited fossil evidence allowed, deepening scientific understanding of one of the most striking and still only partially explained behaviours documented among humanity’s ancient relatives.