An ancestor in a landfill
In December 2002, a team led by Spanish paleoanthropologist Salvador Moyà-Solà made an exceptional find at the Abocador de Can Mata, a landfill near Els Hostalets de Pierola, Catalonia. Excavations uncovered 83 bones and fragments from a single male primate that lived approximately 12.5 to 13 million years ago, during the Middle Miocene epoch. This individual was named Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, a name honoring the nearby village and the region. The fossil, cataloged as IPS21350 and nicknamed "Pau," represents one of the most complete Miocene ape skeletons ever found.
The discovery of Pau shows the anatomy of early great apes. The fossil includes a partial skull with a face, teeth, and important postcranial elements like vertebrae, ribs, and hand bones. Pierolapithecus was a medium-sized primate, estimated to have weighed around 35 kilograms (77 pounds). Its anatomy presents a mosaic of features—some are primitive, while others are strikingly modern and shared with living great apes and humans. This find in Spain challenges the long-held assumption that the ancestors of all great apes evolved exclusively in Africa. The geology of the past allowed for migration between Africa and Europe, suggesting that apes like Pierolapithecus could have inhabited both continents.