The Homo antecessor

Nevertheless, the tooth could contain just the enough amount genetic information to aid researchers in discovering more about a particular species. While studying a species’ sole dental record, they came to the conclusion that another space was required on the human family tree. Needless to say, from chimpanzees to Lucy and through the modern-day humans, a new piece of information in this vast jigsaw had come to light.

As scientists have long known, the Denisovans and their sister species, the Neanderthals, shared a common ancestor as us, the modern humans. However, the placement of another species called the Homo antecessor never completely fit into the mix. In fact, fossils of these species were only found in 1994 at a site in Spain. They have been credited to be present in the country between nearly 0.8 million and 1.2 million years ago.