Le gisement pléistocène de la « Sima del Elefante å (Sierra de Atapuerca, Espagne)

Abstract

‘Sima del Elefante’: A New Pleistocene Site at the Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain). We present preliminary results of the study of a new Pleistocene site at the Atapuerca Hill, known as the ‘Sima del Elefante’. This is a cave deposit more than 21 m thick of sedimentary sequence that has been divided into 21 litostratigraphic units, grouped in three sedimentary phases, with well-distinguished texture, colour and composition. The ‘Sima del Elefante’ has offered a variety of paleontological record, with a particular richness in fossil birds, rodents and carnivores. Paleomagnetic and biostratigraphic data allow dating the lower levels of the site (E-8 to E-14) as Lower Pleistocene. On the other hand, the middle and upper levels of the sequence (E-15 to E-19) seem to correspond to the end of the Middle Pleistocene in the light of the macro-vertebrates remains and the presence of several archaeological levels with a lithic industry of musterian features. During the 2000 field season, a flake on flint of anthropic manufacture was discovered at E-11 level. This finding, together with other evidences recovered in previous seasons, represent the oldest evidence of human occupation at the Sierra de Atapuerca, and confirms the presence of humans in Europe at least one million years ago.