Archaeological site of Atapuerca
Key site for early human evolution and cannibalism evidence.
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The Archaeological site of Atapuerca is located in the Province of Burgos in the north of Spain. It is notable for its evidence of early human occupation, including bone fragments from around 800,000 years ago found in its Gran Dolina cavern, which provide the oldest known evidence of hominid settlement in Western Europe and some of the earliest suggested evidence of hominid cannibalism. The site was designated a World Heritage Site in 2000.
Lore & Background
The archaeological significance of Atapuerca became apparent in the 20th century due to construction of a metre-gauge railway through the Atapuerca Mountains, which exposed rocks and sediments of features known as Gran Dolina, Galería Elefante and Sima de los Huesos. Excavation in 1964 under Francisco Jordá Cerdá discovered anthropogenic artifacts and human fossils from a broad time range. Further excavations led by Emiliano Aguirre and later jointly by Eudald Carbonell, José María Bermúdez de Castro and Juan Luis Arsuaga confirmed evidence of human occupation at various points over roughly 1.2 million years. In 2020, two quartzite stones dating to around 600,000 years ago were discovered, adding to the timeline of human presence at the site.
Reader's Guide
The site is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a national Zona Arqueológica, and a regional Espacio cultural in Castile and León. Key excavation sites include Portalón de Cueva Mayor (1910 to present), Trinchera Galería (1978 to present), Trinchera Dolina (1981 to present), Sima de los Huesos (1983 to present), and Sima del Elefante (1996 to present). At Gran Dolina, level TD-6 yielded over 160 bone fragments of at least eleven hominids between 850,000 and 780,000 years old, with more than 30% showing manipulation marks suggesting cannibalism.
Sima de los Huesos has provided more than 5,500 human skeletal remains of Homo heidelbergensis (also classified as early Neanderthals), including a complete cranium (Skull 5) and a pelvis. Mitochondrial DNA from a 400,000-year-old femur was sequenced, the oldest hominin mtDNA recovered as of 2013. The site's findings support hypotheses about early human evolution, including the possibility that Homo antecessor may be the ancestor of Homo heidelbergensis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Archaeological site of Atapuerca located and what kind of place is it?
It is a complex of caves and gorges in the Province of Burgos, in northern Spain. The Gran Dolina cavern is one of its most studied chambers, holding some of the oldest hominid remains in Western Europe.
What is the most controversial discovery made at Atapuerca?
Analysts have identified modifications on the ancient bones that suggest the earliest known evidence of hominid cannibalism. This finding has generated intense debate about how early our ancestors may have practiced such behavior.
When did Atapuerca earn its UNESCO World Heritage status?
The site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000, recognized for its outstanding contribution to understanding early human evolution and occupation in Europe.
More in World Heritage Sites in Spain
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Archaeological site of Atapuerca (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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