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An archaeologist holds a mandible bone attributed to Homo antecessor, dating from about 800,000 years ago, during a presentation of the latest discoveries and cataloguing at the site of the Sierra de Atapuerca in northern Spain June 20, 2005. This mandible, which shows a primitive structural pattern shared with all African and Asian Homo species, adds to the hominin sample recovered from this site between 1994 and 1996. It is the left half of a gracile mandible belonging probably to a female adult with premolars and molars in place.

Scientists in Spain say that they have found a tooth from a distant human ancestor that is more than one million years old. The tooth, a pre-molar, was discovered on Wednesday at the Atapuerca site in northern Spain's Burgos Province. It represented western Europe's "oldest human fossil remain", a statement from the Atapuerca Foundation said. The foundation said it was awaiting final results before publishing its findings in a scientific journal. Human story Several caves containing evidence of prehistoric human occupation have been found in Atapuerca. In 1994 fossilised remains called Homo antecessor (Pioneer Man) - believed to date back...

Zanolli and colleagues examined dental remains from the sites of Fontana Fanuccio, located 50km southeast of Rome, and Visogliano, located 18km northwest of Trieste. At around 450,000 years old, these teeth join a very short list of fossil human remains from Middle Pleistocene Europe. Using micro-CT scanning and detailed morphological analyses, the authors examined the shape and arrangement of tooth tissues and compared them with teeth of other human species. They found that the teeth of both sites share similarities with Neanderthals and are distinct from modern humans. There has been much debate over the identities and relationships of Middle...

The 257 fossil footprints were found in a coastal creek bed in Le Rozel in northern France. They were made around 80,000 years ago and preserved in sandy mud. Most of the footprints were from children and may show that Neanderthals could have been taller than previously thought. "The discovery of so many Neanderthal footprints at one site is extraordinary," says Isabelle de Groote at Liverpool John Moores University, who was not involved with the study. Before this, only nine Neanderthal footprints were known, from 4 different sites, says Jérémy Duveau of the MuséumNational d'Histoire Naturelle in France, who led...

Archaeologists in Spain are busy excavating the Gran Dolonia portion of the Atapuerca archaeological site for clues to the first humans that arrived in Europe. Many archaeological treasures have come from this northern Spain location known as the caves of the Sierra de Atapuerca. In 2007 human remains were found that date back one and a half million years, considered the oldest Europeans remains ever found. Human remains have also been found from the "Homo antecessor" dating back 850,000-to-950,000-years ago. The youngest remains found here date back a mere 5,000-years ago from the homo sapien species. The site is in...

It is the second complete cranium to be found at the site A 500,000 year old complete cranium has been recovered from the Atapuerca side at Sima de los Huesos de Atapuerca in Burgos. It's the second complete cranium to be found at the site which shows the presence of Homo Antecessor in the region. Sources at the Atapuerca Foundation say that once the practical entire cranium has been recovered the meticulous reconstruction of the bones will be undertaken during the winter. The first cranium to be found at the site, known as Craneo 5 is now on display...

French police have arrested three suspected Basque separatist militants in an Alpine ski resort, officials say. The men were reportedly armed and had false identity papers. Police arrested them in a raid on an apartment in Le Corbier Villarembert on Wednesday. One suspect, named as Alberto Machain Beraza, is thought to be linked to recent Eta bombings, including an attack in Majorca, Spanish media say. Eta has been blamed for more than 820 deaths during its separatist campaign. Eta claimed responsibility for the bombings in Spain in July, carried out just ahead of the 50th anniversary of the group's founding....

WORCESTER— While fear exists that an 18-year-old man shot for his gold necklace Saturday night near Chino Avenue may be paralyzed, members of his family said yesterday they have faith he will emerge OK. Jeffrey Burgos remained in a city hospital in critical but stable condition and was scheduled to undergo more surgery. His family, who asked that their names and address be withheld for fear of reprisal, said the bullet went in near his navel and came out his back near his spine. “The doctors said it was a possibility (he would be paralyzed), but I trust in God...

They are going to hand the men cards that say ''Please Respect Me" and spell out definitions of sexual harassment. It's a move designed to educate the men and boost the girls' self-esteem, said community organizers who helped guide them -- but it also puts some Boston police officials on edge as they urge the girls to avoid confronting potentially threatening people.