Researchers have uncovered the oldest known human facial bones in Western Europe at the Sima del Elefante site in northern Spain, dating between 1.1 and 1.4 million years old. The findings, published in Nature, include parts of the upper jaw and left zygomatic bone of an adult. This discovery suggests that at least two species of Homo, including a previously unclassified ‘Homo affinis erectus’, inhabited western Europe during the early Pleistocene, highlighting a rich archaeological context that sheds light on early human life.