A BIZARRE horned skull fused to a cave wall has left scientists baffled for over 60 years – but they may finally have some answers.
The eerie “Petralona Man” remains were found hidden in a Greek cave way back in 1960 to the surprise of archaeologists.
Scientists finally reveal what type of primate the ‘Petralona Man’ is[/caption]
Although it appeared to be some form of human, experts have been long puzzled about the exact type of primate it is.
The skull is missing a jaw and had a unicorn-like horn on its forehead that made it all the more baffling.
They also couldn’t pinpoint how old it is, but widely speculated it was anywhere between 170,000 to 700,000 years old.
Now, scientists from the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine in France believe they’ve solved those two long-standing mysteries after carrying out fresh research.
Upon studying the minerals on and around the head, they believe it’s about 300,000 years old.
It’s thought Calcite – a mineral found in caves – protruding from the skull is at least 277,000 years-old.
But they’re still not 100 per cent sure how long the skull was in the cave before the horn started to form and admit it could be longer.
As for the what it is, well, it’s not a neanderthal.
Instead it’s part of a much rarer group, broadly known as Homo heidelbergensis.
This group lived in the Middle Pleistocene in Europe (roughly 774,000 to 129,000 years ago).
The remains were uncovered by a local villager in the Petralona Cave, about 22 miles southeast of Greek city Thessaloniki.
These new findings were published in the Journal of Human Evolution.
Skull has long left scientists baffled[/caption]
