Atapuerca Research Team Prince of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research 1997

More than twenty stratigraphically sequenced excavations have been carried out in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain), at sites dating back to the Middle Pleistocene (730,000-120,000 years old). The different stages of this investigation were initiated in 1978 with a team assembled and directed by Professor Emiliano Aguirre. Beginning in 1982, the excavations began to yield the first traces of human activity. The period between 1988 to 1991 was marked by intense research activity, with the presentation of four undergraduate theses and six doctoral dissertations.

A new phase begun in 1991 which was to produce the first ever interdisciplinary team for Quaternary Studies in Spain. This was made up of a group of PhDs and graduates in Biological and Geological Sciences and History, mostly from the Universities of Burgos, Complutense of Madrid, Rovira i Virgili of Tarragona, and Zaragoza, in addition to researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (Spanish acronym, CSIC), headed by Juan Luis Arsuaga, José María Bermúdez de Castro and Eudald Carbonell. This team has received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science/Culture, the Directorate General for Heritage and Cultural Promotion of the Regional Government of Castile-León and CSIC, among other bodies. In July 1992, the discovery of two quite complete skulls, in addition to other remains, at the “Sima de los Huesos” (Pit of Bones) site had a resounding impact on the international scientific community. Around 3,000 human fossil remains of some thirty individuals were unearthed at this site during the excavations carried out in 1999. This most likely comprises an anthropogenic accumulation of hominids belonging to the same biological population who lived in the Sierra de Atapuerca mountain range some 300,000 years ago. Moreover, in 1994, hominid remains dating back some 780,000 years ago were found on level 6 of the Gran Dolina site. These findings and the work of the research team have made Atapuerca an obligatory frame of reference for the study of European prehistory and a veritable paradigm for the study of human evolution. The years 1994 and 1995 saw the unearthing of an abundant range of tools dating from the Lower Palaeolithic, along with human remains, all dating back 800,000 years, thus confirming a very ancient human presence in Europe. The following year, the study of the marks on the bones confirmed that ritual cannibalism was practiced, the oldest reference regarding cannibalism in Europe. The year 1997 was of major importance for the site, as it saw the definition of a new human species, Homo antecessor. The investigations received several prestigious awards, including the Social Sciences Award from the Regional Government of Castile-León. The following year, 1998, was to provide evidence that the remains found in the Sima de los Huesos, formerly assigned to Homo heidelbergensis, belonged to human beings, who, in addition to having the capacity for abstraction and symbolism, raised mystical issues inherent to human beings. This was confirmed by the discovery of an unused double-sided tool made with a highly prized material, named Excalibur, deposited as a tribute to a member of the group buried there. In 1999, excavations began in the Cueva el Mirador, which was listed the following year as a World Heritage Site, while remains of stone tools dating back a million years were found at the Sima del Elefante. A new species of rodent was named, Microtus (Allophaiomys) lavocati, and excavations at the Portalón de Cueva Mayor were renewed.

The Gran Dolina site was to provide a new species of cave bear, Ursus dolinensis, whose remains were found on level TD4.

The Sima del Elefante site, or Trinchera Elefante (TE) site as it is also known, is located in the Trinchera del Ferrocarril, being the first dig you find when walking from the south entrance of the trench. Its name is due to the appearance in 2001 of fossils that were initially attributed to elephants, although later investigations showed that they belonged to rhinoceroses. However, a talus bone that did actually belong to an elephant was discovered in later digs, confirming the presence of these animals in their fossiliferous deposits. It is the site in the trench that has subsequently begun to be systematically excavated. At these levels, remains of wildlife have been found accompanied by stone implements, demonstrating the presence of hominids in a previous epoch during which the Homo antecessor of Gran Dolina lived (about 780,000 years ago). In March 2008, new hominid remains were reported to have been found at this site: part of the jaw of an individual of around 20 years old and 32 Oldowan-type flint tools. These remains date back 1.2 million years, being much older than the original remains at Gran Dolina, which means that the presence of hominids in Europe goes considerably further back in time. The remains, which were initially identified as Homo antecessor, have subsequently been assigned to Homo sp. (belonging to the genus Homo, but without specifying the species), and probably belong to a new species yet to be defined. The jaw has characteristics that approximate those of the oldest species of Homo in Africa and Dmanisi (Georgia), but with features that differentiate them.

What makes the Sima de los Huesos site important is the large number of human remains found there, more than 5,000 fossils, belonging to a group of around 30 individuals of a single stone-age population of the species Homo heidelbergensis (considered an ancestor of Homo neanderthalensis) of very different ages and both sexes. These remains represent more than 90% of Middle Pleistocene human fossils recovered worldwide. Among these remains, seventeen skulls stand out, especially skull number 5, which is the best-preserved Homo heidelbergensis skull in the world and popularly receives the name of “Miguelón” in honour of Miguel Indurain.

Atapuerca constitutes the oldest and most numerous collection of remains in Europe. It has been a listed UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site since 2000 and the discoveries that have been made there have had a huge scientific impact. The sites have been collectively listed as an “Internationally Relevant Spanish Site of Geological Interest” (Geosite) by the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain, under the denomination “VP006: Atapuerca”, within the category of “Vertebrate Sites of the Spanish Pliocene-Pleistocene”. In short, the findings at Atapuerca show us a major part of our evolution, step by step.

The main sources of dissemination regarding the excavations are to be found in the books Atapuerca: un millón de años de historia and Atapuerca. Nuestros ancestros, as well as in the video Atapuerca: the Mystery of Human Evolution, which has received numerous national and international awards. The Atapuerca Foundation was created in 1999 to provide support for the excavations and research carried out there and to contribute to its dissemination.