The Atapuerca human fossils

Abstract

After 20 years of research, the Atapuerca sites have provided a large amount of archaeological and palaeontological remains. Human fossils have been found in three sites: Gran Dolina, galeria and Sima de los Huesos. The Early Pleistocene human fossils from Gran Dolina have been ascribed to a new species,Homo antecessor, that represent the last common ancestor of Neandertals and modern humans. The Sima de los Huesos fossils and all the European Middle Pleistocene human fossils are the ancestors exclusively of the Neandertals, which evolved in Europe in conditions of geographic and genetic isolation.