A new early Pleistocene hominin mandible from Atapuerca-TD6, Spain

We present the description of a new mandibular specimen, ATD6-113, recovered in 2006 from the TD6 level of the Gran Dolina cave site in Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Spain. A detailed study of the lithostratigraphy of the top sequence of this level, the section from where all human remains have been recovered so far, is also presented. We have observed that the hominin stratum, previously defined as Aurora Stratum, represents a condensed deposit of at least six layers, which could not be distinguished in the test pit made in 1994-95. Therefore, the human fossil remains were probably deposited during a discrete and undetermined time period. The new mandibular fragment exhibits a very similar morphology to that of the most complete specimen, ATD6-96, which was recovered in 2003 from a different layer. This suggests that both specimens represent the same biological population. The two mandibles, as well as the small mandibular fragment ATD6-5 (which constitutes part of the holotype of Homo antecessor), present a morphological pattern clearly derived with regard to that of the African early Homo specimens usually included in H. habilis and H. rudolfensis, the mandibles D211 and D2735 from Dmanisi, and most of the early Pleistocene mandibles from Sangiran. The TD6 mandibles also exhibit some derived features with regard to the African early Pleistocene specimens included in H. ergaster (or African H. erectus). Thus, the TD6 hominins seem to represent a lineage different from other African and Asian lineages, although some (metric in particular) similarities with Chinese middle Pleistocene mandibles are noted. Interestingly, none of the apomorphic mandibular features of the European middle and early late Pleistocene hominins are present in the TD6 mandibles.