The earliest evidence of the presence of…

The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to around 270,000 BCE, is to be found in the Petralona cave, in the Greek province of Macedonia.

The fossil, the skull of an adult female, has heavy browbridges, and a large projecting face.

This specimen is similar to those found on other fossil skulls from about the same time period in Europe, including the partial skull from Steinheim in southern Germany, and the skull from Swanscombe cave in southern England.

These archaic Homo sapiens represent the early stages of Homo sapiens evolution in Europe.