The prehistoric facial bones were found buried in 50 feet of mud and silt, and are believed to be 1.1 to 1.4 million years old, researchers said.

A fragment of a face from a human ancestor is the oldest in Western Europe, according to the results published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Spanish researchers have unearthed fossilized remnants forming the left cheek and upper jaw of the earliest human face in Western Europe identified thus far, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature .

The prehistoric facial bones were found buried in 50 feet of mud and silt, and are believed to be 1.1 to 1.4 million years old, researchers said.