Neanderthals were a species of human that lived in Europe and Asia between about 200,000 and 30,000 years ago. They are known for their distinctive physical characteristics, such as a stocky build, a large nose, and a protruding lower jaw. Despite being closely related to modern humans, Neanderthals ultimately went extinct, possibly due to a combination of factors including competition with modern humans and changes in the climate.
SciTechDaily has a story about the discovery of some very old footprints. The footprints were found in Spain in 2020. They were thought to date to about 106,000 year old ago and to probably be of Neanderthal origin. Now, Jorge Rivera, a researcher and technician from the University of Seville's GRS Radioisotopes department has found that the footprints are really about 200,000 years older... some 300,000 years old. A paper in the journal Scientific Reports details the discovery.
At first, they were thought to be Neanderthals, but that is now in doubt. The main hypothesis among the scientists is that they are individuals of the Neanderthal lineage, among which Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neanderthalensis have been associated. The hypothesis that they are pre-neanderthal hominins is feasible.
Precisely for this reason, the Matalascañas footprints are now more valuable due to their contribution to the fossil records of hominins in the Middle Pleistocene, which is very poor in Europe because of the scarcity of deposits with footprints. Until now, according to the paper, footprints this period have only been found at Terra Amata and Roccamonfina (Italy), which were dated to between 380,000 and 345,000 years ago, with records of Homo heidelbergensis.
They are the only ones older than that at Huelva in this era. After these, Biache-Vaast (France) and Theopetra (Greece) sites, from 236,000 to 130,000 years ago, are attributed to Homo neanderthalensis. In this context, the length range of all the footprints found at Matalascañas, from 14 to 29 centimeters, is similar to that found at European sites, such as Theopetra (14-15 centimeters), Roccamonfina (24-27 cm) and Terra Amata (24 cm).
