archaeology

A fragment of a human face discovered in 2022 at the Sima del Elefante site in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos) and dated to between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago represents the oldest known face in Western Europe. The fossil, nicknamed ‘Pink’, does not belong to Homo antecessor, but has been provisionally catalogued as Homo affinis erectus. The find, which is published in the journal Nature, could indicate that Western Europe was populated by at least two species of hominids during the Early Pleistocene: Homo affinis erectus and, later, Homo antecessor.

An international team of geneticists and archaeologists has analysed more than 50 ancient Iron Age genomes from an area of southern Britain. Their conclusions are that they belonged to a matrilocal society, in which land was inherited through the female line and husbands moved in with the community of their wives. The results are published in the journal Nature and would be the first such finding in prehistoric Europe.

In pre-Hispanic Andean societies, the gender of individuals and the political organisation of the region where they lived had a major impact on the physical violence they experienced, says a study published in PNAS. Living in a state ‘drastically’ reduced the likelihood of lethal violence for women, but not for men. The study analysed archaeological data from more than 8,600 adults collected in 169 studies and dating from 155 sites.

A study has analysed around 10,000 teeth from 139 archaeological sites in Europe dating from around 1200 AD in the Middle Ages. The differences between the teeth of men and women make it possible to establish who had better living conditions and received more attention in each place. Comparing the data with the contemporary situation, they conclude that greater gender discrimination in the past correlates with greater inequality today. According to the authors, this persistence is most likely due to intergenerational transmission, as it is interrupted when there is a large population replacement. The results are published in the journal PNAS.

Some 4,000 engraved slate plaques resembling owls have been found in tombs and graves on the Iberian Peninsula dating back to the Copper Age. It has been speculated that they may have had a ritual significance. Spanish scientists have analysed 100 of these plaques and propose, in an article published in Scientific Reports, that they may have been carved by children for play.