Perrenoud told the newspaper that human remains that date back 500,000 to 800,000 years ago are very hard to find in Europe, that’s why the recently discovered human tooth is very valuable because it fills in a few gaps in the evolution of humans.
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In 2011, researchers at the cave discovered a baby tooth, suggesting Homo heidelbergensis, probably the ancestor of Homo sapiens in Africa and the Neanderthals in Europe, led a family life in the cave.
Volunteer Camille, 16, was working with another young archeologist when she found the tooth.The tooth, which was uncovered on Thursday, predates the Tautavel Man by 100,000 years.
Reported by the Associated Press, the archaeology students were helping search a cave known as Tautavel, a cave notes for its prehistoric contents.
The tooth belonged to a human ancestor who lived about 550,000 years ago – a period of time from which very few human remains have been found in Europe. Other artifacts found in the cave from that time include the remains of the occupants’ meals, including the bones of horses, reindeer, bison, rhinoceros and sheep and stone tools. It was a steppe, with no trees.
These latest findings haven’t been the subject of a scientific publication yet, but Tautavel is recognized as a reference by archaeologists all over the world. Tony Chevalier, a paleoanthropologist overseeing the discovery, called the tooth, estimated at 560,000 years old, “significant” for its implications on ancient human fossils.
TOULOUSE: A group of archeologists have found an adult human tooth dating back around 560,000 years in southwestern France, in what researchers hailed as a “major discovery” Tuesday.
Christian Perrenoud, a geologist and archaeologist who has been director of Tautavel’s excavations for nine years, told the AP that his team used several dating processes to determine the age of the tooth.
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“If the tooth has calculus (tartar) attached to it, this may also provide direct evidence of the diet of these ancient humans”, he added.
