Homo antecessor is an extinct
human species (or subspecies) dating from 800,000 to 1.2 million years ago, that was discovered by
Eudald Carbonell,
Juan Luis Arsuaga and J. M. Bermúdez de Castro. "The unique mix of modern and primitive traits led the researchers to deem the fossils a new species,
H. antecessor, in 1997". Regarding its great age the species must be related to
Out of Africa I, the first series of
hominin expansions into
Eurasia, making it one of the earliest known human species in
Europe.