Carbonell, E.Bermúdez de Castro, J. M.Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan LuisAllue, E.Bastir, M.Benito, A.Cáceres, I.Canals, T.Díez, J. C.Made, J. van derMosquera, M.Olle, A.Pérez González, Alfredo José2024-10-112024-10-112005-04-110027-842410.1073/pnas.0501841102https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/108918Published online: April 11, 2005 / Published in issue: April 19, 2005. Copyright © 2005, The National Academy of Sciences. Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.We present a mandible recovered in 2003 from the Aurora Stratum of the TD6 level of the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Spain). The specimen, catalogued as ATD6-96, adds to the hominin sample recovered from this site in 1994–1996, and assigned to Homo antecessor. ATD6-96 is the left half of a gracile mandible belonging to a probably female adult individual with premolars and molars in place. This mandible shows a primitive structural pattern shared with all African and Asian Homo species. However, it is small and exhibits a remarkable gracility, a trait shared only with the Early and Middle Pleistocene Chinese hominins. Furthermore, none of the mandibular features considered apomorphic in the European Middle and Early Upper Pleistocene hominin lineage are present in ATD6-96. This evidence reinforces the taxonomic identity of H. antecessor and is consistent with the hypothesis of a close relationship between this species and Homo sapiens.engjournal article1091-6490https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0501841102https://www.pnas.org/restricted access599.892"628.62"(460.182)human evolutionPaleontología2416 Paleontología