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WINNIPEG, CANADA—The jawbone of an ancient human ancestor or relative with three intact teeth has been discovered in a cave in Balanica, Serbia. The fossil, which resembles the jaw of Homo erectus, has been dated to at least 397,000 years old, and is perhaps more than 525,000 years old, making it the oldest-known hominin fossil found in Southeastern Europe. Research team member Mirjana Roksandic of the University of Winnipeg thinks that Neanderthals may not have evolved in this region at this time as they did in Western Europe, which was isolated by rising glaciers. “So there is no pressure on them to develop into something different,” she said.
