Romania discovers Europe's oldest human traces dating back two million years

Discovery supports early 'out of Africa' migrations, predating Homo erectus' exit from Africa.

 Romania discovers Europe's oldest human traces dating back two million years. Illustration. (photo credit: Ionut Musca. Via Shutterstock)
Romania discovers Europe's oldest human traces dating back two million years. Illustration.
(photo credit: Ionut Musca. Via Shutterstock)

Romania is making strides in the archaeological world after new evidence confirmed the presence of ancient hominins in the country dating back two million years. The discovery was made at the Valea lui Grăunceanu site in Vâlcea County, which is now recognized as the oldest European site showing traces of activity by hominins, according to HotNews.

Archaeological research in the Valea lui Grăunceanu, also known as the Greuceanu Valley, started 60 years ago. Recently, an international team of researchers from America, the United Kingdom, Moldova, Australia, Sweden, and Romania reexamined over 4,500 fossil segments collected in the area, using high-precision microscopes and the uranium-lead dating method, as reported by Gandul.

The analysis confirmed the presence of traces of human activity, with clear evidence of hominins in the form of anthropic modifications on the surface of the bones. Scientists from several countries, including Romania and the Republic of Moldova, analyzed nearly 5,000 fossils, with 4,524 examined using high-resolution microscopes to identify any artificial modifications on their surfaces, according to ProTV News.

The study's authors stated that "the incisions appear in anatomical positions indicating defleshing, which betrays a deliberate operation to remove soft tissues from bones, implying the presence of a hominin species capable of using tools for this purpose," as per HotNews.

These findings surpass previous records set by Spain and Turkey, with the oldest European sites yielding human fossils at Barranco León (1.5 million years), Kocabaş (1.3–1.1 million years), and Sima del Elefante (1.2–1.1 million years), according to Gandul.

The faunal elements were dated using the uranium-lead method, one of the most effective radiometric dating methods used for objects older than one million years.

"It is frustrating to find only the traces left by tools, not the tools themselves, but such cases are not unique in the world of prehistoric archaeology. However, it is unequivocal that we have an evolved species, capable of creating stone tools around 2 million years ago on the territory of Romania, and using them to butcher animals. As for the hypothesis of the presence of bone tools, it was debunked nearly 30 years ago when it was proven that the supposed artifacts appeared as a result of the activity of carnivores," said Adrian Doboș, an archaeologist at the Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archaeology and one of the authors of the study published in Nature.

Researchers believe these traces may belong to individuals who were making stone tools, supporting the idea of "out of Africa" migrations that precede the presumed exit of Homo erectus from the African continent about 1.8 to 1.9 million years ago. The exact type of hominid responsible for these activities remains unclear, but specialists suggest that the traces could belong to the species Homo erectus.

Additional discoveries were made in the vicinity of Valea lui Grăunceanu, including La Pietriș, Valea Roșcăi, Dealul Mijlociu, and Fântâna lui Mitilan, where similar methods were used for fossil animal remains.

In addition to the findings in Romania, there are sites in China, Russia, India, or Pakistan that also indicate the presence of hominin species within the timeframe of 2 to 2.6 million years ago. "The evidence we had so far indicated the presence of early representatives of the genus Homo in Georgia, at Dmanisi, within a timeframe of about 1.77 to 1.8 million years ago," stated the study published in Nature.


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"Even if we have traces of the presence of intelligent primates on the territory of Romania or in other points of Eurasia from at least 2 million years ago, that does not mean we can speak of sustained waves of migration. Much more likely, we are dealing with ephemeral groups that followed herds of animals and who, at some point, disappeared. About a de facto colonization of Europe, we can speak much later. Such a moment can be said to have occurred about 400,000 years ago, perhaps even earlier," Doboș said.

The period and manner in which hominins first migrated to the territory of Europe are still unclear. 

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq