60-year mystery of the fossil skull that baffled scientists may finally be solved

The Petralona skull was discovered in Greece in 1960, yet its origin has perplexed experts – until now

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A strange, fossilised skull found in a Greek cave more than 60 years ago may finally be giving up some of its secrets. New analysis, detailed in a recently published study, suggests it’s at least 300,000 years old, dating it back to a time when Homo sapiens were still in Africa and the first Neanderthals had appeared in Europe.

Known as the Petralona skull, it has long caused headaches for palaeoanthropologists, who struggled to determine where it fits into the human family tree.

The fossil lacked distinct features of well-known human species and was found in isolation, embedded in a cave wall with no surrounding artefacts or animal bones that could be dated.