The caves of Sierra de Atapuerca and human use of the karst landscape during the Pleistocene (Burgos, Spain)

Abstract

The Sierra de Atapuerca karst is an interesting inactive multilevel cave system, which is the result of the action of ancient base levels during the Plio-Pleistocene. It contains one of the most important prehistoric sites for the understanding of old settlements in Eurasia, and was listed by the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. These caves were formed on the bases of sub-horizontal conduits with SN paleo-drainage, with the discharge zone located in the head of Pico river. The conduits are organized into three main levels that appear perched between 90 and 60 m above the current course of the Arlanzón River, coinciding with the base levels generated mainly by the fluvial terraces T2, T3 and T5. Incision of the water table released the upper ducts from the action of water while the lower levels were being developed in the phreatic zone. The vadose caves would have been used by wildlife and hominids for more than 1.2 Ma, preserving the important archaeo-paleontological records of the Early and Middle Pleistocene.