This study “introduces a new actor in the history of human evolution in Europe”, said its first author, Rosa Huguet, from the Spanish University of Tarragona, at a press conference.

Until now, the oldest representative of the human species in Western Europe, dating back 800,000 to 900,000 years, was Homo antecessor, discovered in the Sierra del Atapuerca, in northern Spain.

ATE7-1, named Rosa by the Spanish team that discovered it, was found less than 250 metres from the Homo antecessor site.

The first known European representative of the Homo genus outside Africa was found in Eastern Europe, Homo georgicus, the Man of Dmanisi, who lived 1.8 million years ago.

Found at a depth of more than sixteen metres, the fossil has been dated to between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago. A facial reconstruction using 3D imaging tools reveals Rosa's face.

Scientists believe it is impossible at this stage to determine Rosa's sex, let alone her age, but the team says that she lived in a humid forest landscape, with Mediterranean-type vegetation, rich in birds, rodents and monkeys, horses and cattle, as well as some bison and hippos, with a more temperate climate than today, according to the France-Presse news agency.