Hominin activity in Europe earlier than previously thought

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January 30, 2025
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Hominin activity in Europe earlier than previously thought

Research by Ohio University Associate Professor of Anthropology Dr. Sabrina Curran has uncovered evidence of early “hominin activity” in Europe earlier than previously thought. The team, including researchers from Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy in Bucharest, Romania and, an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arkansas, published their research in Nature Communications

They uncovered multiple cut-marked bones appearing to have been made by early human ancestors using stone tools in Grăunceanu, Romania. The marks were dated back to around 1.95 million years ago, making them among the earliest evidence of tool use and meat processing in Eurasia.

The discovery reveals more about the arrival of hominin dispersal across the region. Previous evidence suggested that the earliest presence had been in Dmanisi in Georgia around 1.8 million years ago but this new discovery has pushed that timeline further back.

“The discovery of these cut marks is significant because it pushes back the timeline of hominin activity in Eurasia,” Curran said. “While evidence of stone tools has been found in other parts of the world, the presence of these marks on bones offers a rare and valuable glimpse into the behavior of early human ancestors.”

This research builds on decades of past excavations in Romania including major fossil discoveries in the 1960s and 1980s. The bones in the Institute of Speleology and the Museum of Oltenia had been overlooked until recent re-examination by Curran and the international team.

“We didn’t initially expect to find much,” Curran explained. “But during a routine check of the collections we found several cut marked bones. This led to further investigation in collaboration with Dr. Briana Pobiner of the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Michael Pante, of Colorado State University, and the discovery of other distinct marks across different bones, suggesting deliberate butchering activities.”

This predates the Georgia site, which had been previously thought of as the earliest known hominin activity outside of Africa, by around 200,000 years. It establishes Romania as a crucial iste for the spread and behaviour of early human ancestors.

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