Sierra De Atapuerca Research Articles

Spain's magic mountain: narrating prehistory at Atapuerca.

The Sierra de Atapuerca in northern Spain is ranked among the most important excavation sites in human origins research worldwide. The project boasts not only spectacular hominid fossils, among them the 'oldest European', but also a fully fledged 'popularization industry'. This article interprets this multimedia industry as a generator of different narratives about the researchers as well as about the prehistoric hominids of Atapuerca. It focuses on the popular works of the three co-directors of the project. Juan Luis Arsuaga, José María Bermúdez de Castro and Eudald Carbonell make deliberate use of a variety of narrative devices, resonant cultural references and strategies of scientific self-commodification. All three, in different ways, use the history of science and of their own research project to mark their place in the field of human origins research, drawing on mythical elements to tell the story of the rise of a humble Spanish team overcoming all odds to achieve universal acclaim. Furthermore, the co-directors make skilful use of palaeofiction - that of Björn Kurtén and Jean Auel, as well as writing their own - in order to tell gripping stories about compassion and solidarity in human prehistory. This mixture of nationalist and universalist narratives invites the Spanish audience to identify not just with 'their ancestors' but also with the scientists, as objects and subjects of research become conflated through popularization.

Climatic and environmental conditions from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age (7000–3000 BP) in the Iberian Peninsula assessed using small-mammal assemblages

We have analyzed the palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate of the beginning of the Holocene in the Iberian Peninsula on the basis of the small-mammal assemblages from three sites within the geography of the Iberian Peninsula: Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), Colomera (Sant Esteve de la Sarga, Lleida) and Valdavara-1 (Becerreá, Lugo). These associations reveal that the palaeoenvironment was more humid than today in the sites under study, and the landscape was dominated by woodland and woodland margins in all the studied layers. Further, the climatic conditions were stable, but with winters colder than at present, above all in the Mediterranean area. Finally, our data have been compared with other environmental and climatic proxies, showing that human activities exerted little impact on the palaeoenvironmental conditions that occurred from 7000 to 3000 BP in the Iberian Peninsula.

Biostratigraphy, palaeogeography and palaeoenvironmental significance of Sorex runtonensis Hinton, 1911 (Mammalia, Soricidae): First record from the Iberian Peninsula

Sorex runtonensis (Mammalia, Soricidae) is a well-known Pleistocene taxon with a broad distribution in Europe. However, no record of the species had been reported from the Iberian Peninsula up to now. Here we present nearly two hundred specimens of S. runtonensis recovered from the Lower Red Unit (levels TE7–14) of Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain), dated to ~1.1–1.5Ma. Rigorous morphometrical and morphological analyses allowed the assignation of the items from Sima del Elefante confidently to this taxon, distinguishing them from the several other Pleistocene species of similar size that inhabited Europe. Sorex runtonensis survived all through the Pleistocene (and maybe more), but the remains from Sima del Elefante exhibit some traits that appear to be particular to the Early Pleistocene, which agrees with the pre-Jaramillo chronology inferred for the lower levels of the site. Western Palearctic S. runtonensis has been regarded as a proxy of patchy and relatively arid, open past biotopes due to its similarity to recent Eastern Palearctic S. tundrensis. In light of this fact, and given the high relative quantities of this taxon at the site, previous palaeoenvironmental reconstructions proposed for the lowermost unit of Sima del Elefante should be revised to present a more ecologically diverse scenario than previously thought.

Biochronological data for the middle pleistocene site of Grotte de la Carrière (Lachambre karstic complex, Corneilla-De-Conflent, Eastern Pyrenees, Southern France) inferred from the small-mammal assemblage

The Embulla Mountain, located between the municipalities of Ria and Corneilla-de-Conflent (Eastern Pyrenees), possesses a large karstic complex with more than 20 caves situated at different altitudinal levels. Lachambre Cave, with more than 26 km of galleries, is the largest of these. The research carried out by the authors since 2011 has led to the discovery of several Middle to Late Pleistocene sites. Grotte de la Carriere is one of these newly discovered sites. The first paleontological survey, undertaken in May 2015, led to the unearthing of more than 2000 large- and small-vertebrate remains in eight different stratigraphical layers. The small-mammal assemblage from the richest layer of the sequence (layer 4) includes at least two insectivores (Talpa europaea and Sorex sp.) and eight rodents (Microtus arvalis, Microtus agrestis jansoni, Iberomys brecciensis, Clethrionomys glareolus, Pliomys coronensis, Apodemus gr. sylvaticus-flavicollis, Allocricetus bursae and Sciurus sp.). This association is very similar to other Middle Pleistocene sites in southern France, such as Caune de l'Arago and Grotte du Lazaret, as well as being similar to other Iberian Middle Pleistocene sites, such as Gran Dolina (TD10), Galeria and Sima del Elefante (TE18-19) in the Sierra de Atapuerca. These data suggest an approximate age for Grotte de la Carriere - layer 4 of between 220 and 450 ka. The chronology proposed on the basis of the micromammal assemblage also coincides with the large mammals recovered and identified from this layer, mainly composed of the species Ursus deningeri, Panthera fossilis and Canis mosbachensis.

A human parietal fragment from the late Early Pleistocene Gran Dolina-TD6 cave site, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain

The TD6-2 level of the Gran Dolina cave site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) has yielded an assemblage of about 170 human fossil remains dated to>800 ka (probably MIS 21) and assigned to the species Homo antecessor. In this study, we describe for the first time a large portion of a parietal bone (ATD6-100/168). The morphology of the fractures on the bones is compatible with a peri-mortem trauma. The superior parietal areas are flat. There is a large parietal foramen and one smaller accessory parietal foramen. Middle meningeal vessels are not particularly developed, but they are distributed in both anterior and posterior districts, with the parietal vasculature originating from the posterior branch. The meningeal vessels show multiple minor connections with the pericranial and diploic vascular systems. The diploe is not particularly developed, and large diploic channels are not detected. The bone is thin when compared with adult fossil humans, and equivalent to juvenile values. All these characters suggest that the parietal ATD6-100/168 probably belonged to a juvenile individual, with plesiomorphic endocranial traits similar to those described for H. ergaster/erectus. The derived temporal, maxillary and dental traits in Homo antecessor and the primitive parietal morphology further point to distinct (mosaic) patterns of morphological evolution of face and braincase.

Mole’s humerus speaks. A rebuttal to Furió 2016

The discovery of small, very well-defined and perfectly preserved tooth marks on the humerus of a mole, Talpa cf. europaea (TE9, Sima del Elefante, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), is extraordinary. To date, no micromammal fossil is known with puncture prints produced by a bite with a clear or delimited morphology that would permit its detailed study. The exceptional character of the finding may raise questions and suspicions about alteration and taphonomic agents. However, we have evidence that both the marks in the mole humerus are due to the action of biting and that this bite corresponds to the dentition of Beremendia fissidens. After all, not only large predators bite, as this article intends to demonstrate.

Nuclear DNA sequences from the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos hominins.

A unique assemblage of 28 hominin individuals, found in Sima de los Huesos in the Sierra de Atapuerca in Spain, has recently been dated to approximately 430,000 years ago. An interesting question is how these Middle Pleistocene hominins were related to those who lived in the Late Pleistocene epoch, in particular to Neanderthals in western Eurasia and to Denisovans, a sister group of Neanderthals so far known only from southern Siberia. While the Sima de los Huesos hominins share some derived morphological features with Neanderthals, the mitochondrial genome retrieved from one individual from Sima de los Huesos is more closely related to the mitochondrial DNA of Denisovans than to that of Neanderthals. However, since the mitochondrial DNA does not reveal the full picture of relationships among populations, we have investigated DNA preservation in several individuals found at Sima de los Huesos. Here we recover nuclear DNA sequences from two specimens, which show that the Sima de los Huesos hominins were related to Neanderthals rather than to Denisovans, indicating that the population divergence between Neanderthals and Denisovans predates 430,000 years ago. A mitochondrial DNA recovered from one of the specimens shares the previously described relationship to Denisovan mitochondrial DNAs, suggesting, among other possibilities, that the mitochondrial DNA gene pool of Neanderthals turned over later in their history.

El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain): A whole perspective

The archaeological site of El Mirador is located in the southern slope of the Sierra de Atapuerca. The work developed at the site is providing a substantial set of data from the Upper Palaeolithic and Early Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age. Throughout at least about 4000 years of occupation, the cave was used for various activities, among which, burial, habitation and animal stalling. The practices related with this last use is, at the moment, the main origin of the archaeological deposits, which are mainly composed by burnt animal dung with vegetal residues, potsherds, lithics and faunal remains. In addition, it is characterized by high sedimentation rates that have enabled an individual and clear record of different episodes, providing high resolution chronological data. Due to these particularities, specific excavation methodology and interdisciplinary studies of the archaeological data have been developed in order to understand the genesis of this archaeological sequence and, at the same time, to provide information about the introduction and development of the production economy in the Submeseta Norte region.

Taphonomic approach to the palynological record of burnt and unburnt samples from El Mirador Cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)

An analysis of twelve samples from Bronze Age level MIR4 (3040 ± 40–3400 ± 40 BP), burnt to different degrees, has allowed to characterised the palynological content of the sedimentary facies generated by burning practices. The pollen and Non-Pollen Palynomorphs (NPP) remains have contributed to our understanding of the diagenetic factors that accompanied the accumulation dynamics. The taphonomic analysis has led to the detection of biases in the palynological record associated to diagenetic processes, mainly relating to burning activities, which would also have caused the variability in the NPPs. This alternative approach to archaeological samples has revealed the heterogenic nature of the taphonomic modifications found in samples with apparently the same origin.

Beavers (Castoridae, Rodentia, Mammalia) from the Quaternary sites of the Sierra de Atapuerca, in Burgos, Spain

The Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber is known from the Pleistocene in Europe, although there are references to the presence of the genus Castor since the Miocene, ca. 10 Ma. Beavers are present in the Iberian Peninsula since the Pliocene, though the first appearance of Castor fiber took place in the Early Pleistocene levels of the localities of the Sierra de Atapuerca, where the fossil beaver remains are found in the lower levels of Sima del Elefante and Gran Dolina (Early Pleistocene), Galería de las Estatuas (Late Pleistocene) and Portalón (Holocene). The presence of fossil beavers suggests humid and mild climatic conditions in the Early Pleistocene levels of Gran Dolina and Sima del Elefante. During the Middle Pleistocene, although conditions for beavers seemed favourable, they disappeared from Atapuerca, appearing again during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene.

The influence of raw material quality on the characteristics of the lithic tool edges from the Atapuerca sites (Burgos, Spain)

Abstract This article analyses the relationship between the characteristics of the raw materials and the cutting edges of Sierra de Atapuerca lithic tools during the Lower and Middle Pleistocene. In previous publications, we have analysed how the cutting edge and weight of a tool determine its cutting efficiency and the amount of force it is capable of applying. In this paper, we aim to complete that study with an analysis of the influence of the physical-mechanical aptitudes of the raw materials on these edges. The analysis of the qualities of the raw materials, their influence on the development of knapping processes and the final formats of the tool edges inform us about their suitability for producing edges with certain potential capacities. The relationship between morpho-potential elements (length, angle, resistance, etc.) and the qualities of the raw materials has not been empirically studied under explicitly stated experimental conditions in materials from the Palaeolithic era in Europe. This study maintains that the characteristics of raw materials are of fundamental importance in determining the potential uses of these lithic assemblages.

The Acheulean from Atapuerca: Three steps forward, one step back

In Western Europe, Acheulean cultural evidence is well attested by ca. 0.5 Ma. However, recent work has proven that it was present earlier; at the end of the Early Pleistocene. The timing and mode of the Western European Acheulean needs still to be investigated, and this knowledge appears to be strongly dependent upon data from sites with sufficiently well preserved archeo-stratigraphical sequences and/or geophysical conditions that guarantee reliable dating.The karstic deposits from the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) represent one such case. They contain exceptionally long and continuous archeo-paleontological deposits that have yielded hominins, stone tools and faunal remains from a period covering the late Early Pleistocene up to the Holocene. Previous work has allowed us to reconstruct the evolution of technology on a local scale, from the late Early to the Middle Pleistocene, and to situate the appearance of the Acheulean more or less simultaneously in the sites of Galería, Gran Dolina-TD10 and the Sima de los Huesos, at around 0.5 Ma, after a hiatus of archeological evidence of approximately 300 Ka. These Acheulean assemblages appear in association with hominin fossils that have recently been identified as early members of the Neandertal lineage.Delving further into the description of the Acheulean from Atapuerca, we have recently focused on the technological features that we consider to be of particular evolutionary significance and attempted to identify them in other European key sites of comparable chronologies. Indeed, we identified some internal evolutionary trends, which led us to propose that there was a local transition at Atapuerca from the Acheulean to the early Middle Paleolithic techno-complexes.However, the chronological setting resulting from the intensive dating programs carried out in the Galería and Sima de los Huesos sites, and especially, the correlation of these dates with the ones available from Gran Dolina-TD10, confronts us with some apparent paradoxes underlining the need to reconsider the technological interpretation of the lithic technical record from Atapuerca.While great efforts are being made in dating and analysis at many European Middle Pleistocene sites, as well as in establishing correlations with which to build consistent regional sequences, single, long, continuous, and accurately excavated (i.e. over a large surface area) archeological successions remain crucial to properly interpret the appearance and evolution of the Acheulean throughout Europe. We further stress the importance of taking into account conditioning factors such as, raw material availability, environmental constraints and site function issues.

Carnivores and humans during the Early and Middle Pleistocene at Sierra de Atapuerca

It has been repeatedly proposed that the human presence in Europe during the late Early and the early Middle Pleistocene was conditioned, among other factors, by the available trophic resources and by the competition with carnivores for these resources. Competition for meat with other secondary consumers could delay the human dispersal through Europe. Moreover, some research suggests that human settlement was discontinuous in Europe during the late Early and the Middle Pleistocene and that this discontinuity might be related to the presence of other secondary consumers. The competition intensity among secondary consumer species in Europe has been previously analysed at both local and continental scales. At the local scale, two faunal assemblages from the Sierra de Atapuerca sites were analysed, demonstrating that competition intensity was higher in the early Middle Pleistocene than in the late Early Pleistocene. At a continental scale, 34 faunal assemblages were analysed and demonstrated an opposite pattern. In the present study, we extended the local analysis to include more faunal assemblages from the Sierra de Atapuerca sites to track the changes in the competition intensity during a longer time period. The results show that humans were able to successfully exploit the Atapuerca ecosystems at different levels of competition intensity, and that TD6-2 assemblage exhibits an exceptionally low degree of competition. It is proposed that the TD6-2 paleocommunity likely included a large felid species that is not recorded in the fossil assemblage. Lack of human presence in the TD8 assemblage may be related to increased competition intensity inside the guild of secondary consumers, while the technological development from Mode 2 to Mode 3 could be related to an increased degree of competition. There are similarities between the analyses at the continental and local scales from the point of view of the available biomass for secondary consumers, but the competition intensity shows little variation at the local scale, with the exception of the TD6-2 assemblage.

Updated Atapuerca biostratigraphy: Small-mammal distribution and its implications for the biochronology of the Quaternary in Spain

The Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) contains the most comprehensive archaeological and paleontological evidence of human evolution in Europe during the Quaternary. The time scale based on the microfossil content of the sedimentary infillings of the caves of Atapuerca has been used to attribute relative ages to the various paleontological and archaeological levels and correlate amongst the different sites. Microfossils are particularly significant as they are the dominant constituents of the caves from the Pleistocene to the Holocene of the Sierra de Atapuerca. The microfossils of the Atapuerca sites are mainly composed of isolated bones and teeth from small vertebrates, and the hard tissue of the vertebrate skeleton can be taxonomically classified. In revisiting the distribution and the classification of the small-mammal taxa along five of the main stratigraphic sequences from Atapuerca (Sima del Elefante, Gran Dolina, Galería-Zarpazos, Sima de los Huesos, and Portalón), we apply a new method, the “Unitary Associations” method, in order to refine the existing biozones, adding five new Faunal Units, and interpret their relative age. Finally, we correlate Atapuerca with other Pleistocene sites of Europe.

Assessing the effects of temporal ambivalence on defining palaeosystem interrelations, and applicability to the analysis of archaeological survey data

We present a possibility-based method with applications to the analysis of archaeological survey data under constraints of temporal ambivalence. The method is a generalizable heuristic for automated learning and data mining that estimates the set of possible responses associated with ambivalent numerical data, by (i) assessing the degree of epistemic ambivalence that is carried in a data set with ambivalent information, and by (ii) monitoring the effects of this degree on data analysis, enabling the adaptation of classical data analysis to the treatment of both crisp and fuzzy information. Owing to the strong methodological foundations of the application, a detailed introduction of the ambivalent paradigm is presented first so its adaptability to archaeological survey data can be followed later. The approach is demonstrated in selecting informative features of uncertain palaeosystems by ambivalent Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and exemplified with archaeological survey data collected in the Sierra de Atapuerca and the Arlanzon valley (Burgos, Spain), focusing on the effects of temporal ambivalence on the analysis of associations between lithological palaeoenvironments and Middle Palaeolithic technologies in an open-air context. Although survey data in this region is affected by varying degrees of temporal ambivalence that, on occasion, span several isotopic stages of the late Pleistocene sequence, its effects on feature selection, regarding PCA, are not significant enough to produce contradictory reprojections of palaeolithological data onto the principal space, thanks to a gradual stabilization of the relief in the Middle Arlanzon valley, on a regional scale, during the late Pleistocene. By applying correlation-based dissimilarity distances and cluster analysis to the grouping of ambivalent score patterns, ambivalent features that describe the palaeolithological context of the Middle Palaeolithic scatters can be grouped on the PC1 × PC2 principal plane into four contexts with a similar palaeolithological evolution among group members: the Mesozoic crest of the Sierra de Atapuerca (Group 1), the Neogene levels of the Villalval-Rubena platform (Group 2), lithologically mixed areas between fluvial valleys and Neogene hills (Group 3), and the valleys of the Arlanzon, Pico and Vena rivers (Group 4). In none of these groups the evolution of the local palaeolandscape is notable enough, once again on a regional scale, to produce conflicting descriptions of the palaeolithological signatures where the archaeological scatters occur, although Group 3 (a geographical interface between different lithological palaeoenvironments) has been more dynamic than the rest of environments over the time range the lithic scatters would have formed.

2D and 3D ERT imaging for identifying karst morphologies in the archaeological sites of Gran Dolina and Galería Complex (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)

Abstract This work focusses on the Sierra de Atapuerca Thinchera karst system, in which Gran Dolina and Galeria Complex sites are located. A total of eight ERT profiles were performed over an area that covers both sites, with the aim of identifying the dimensions and continuity of these passages. The interpretation of the 2D and 3D profiles has allowed determining the extension of the conduits as well as the presence of a filled entrance that might be common to both sites. With the aid of 2D modelling experiments it was also possible to resolve some of the hypothesis raised from the interpretation of the 2D pseudosections. All these data have ultimately lead to a better understanding of the karst and sites' formation process.

Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the Sierra de Atapuerca Pleistocene sites (Burgos, Spain)

Abstract The Sierra de Atapuerca is an anticlinal ridge of Mesozoic carbonate rocks on the NW edge of the Iberian Chain (Northern Spain, Burgos), surrounded by subhorizontal continental sediments of the NE Duero Cenozoic Basin under endorheic conditions. The shift to exorheic conditions in the Duero Basin lead to the onset of an episodic downcutting phase and the development of the Atapuerca multilevel cave system, containing several sites from the Early and Middle Pleistocene. In this work, we have reconstructed the Pleistocene palaeogeographical evolution of the SW flank of the Sierra de Atapuerca, where these archaeological sites are located. The study is based on a detailed geomorphological and geological analysis, combined with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and 3D LiDAR data, and GIS modeling. These techniques have been applied to analyse the small valleys and the interfluve on the SW flank of the SW Sierra de Atapuerca. The results were combined with the regional base levels recorded by fluvial terraces and the chronostratigraphic sequences of the Sierra de Atapuerca sites. These reconstructions have allowed us to model the palaeogeographical evolution in the nearby area of the cave sites during the Early–Middle Pleistocene, coupling the main formation phases of the sites with the local physical landscape changes that occurred outside the caves. Surface processes are defined by incision phases entailing mitigate knickpoint recession and slope retreatment, and local aggradational phases associated with caves opened and captured by fluvial incision. This reconstruction provides the local physical palaeogeographical habitats developed during the Pleistocene hominid occupation of the Sierra de Atapuerca.

Cranial morphological differences within U. deningeri – U. spelaeus lineage: A double traditional and geometric morphometrics approach

Abstract Two complete skulls of Ursus deningeri , one recovered from the Middle Pleistocene site of the Sima de los Huesos in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain), and the other one from Petralona (Chalkidiki, Greece), were reconstructed through computed tomography. The cranial morphology of U. deningeri was analysed using dual “traditional” and geometric morphometric and compared to extinct and extant Ursidae ( Ursus spelaeus , Ursus arctos , and Ursus americanus ). The goal of this work was to explore the variation in skull morphology between these different taxa. The analysis presented here indicates that combined traditional and geometric morphometric methods could be useful for a taxonomic approach. In this preliminary study, in which only 2D information is used, it is possible to distinguish the three bear lineages presented here. U. deningeri occupies an intermediate position between the U. spelaeus and U. arctos , which supports an early evolutionary stage of U. deningeri within the cave bear phylogenetic lineage. This study establishes that genera of the Ursus can be differentiated based on cranial shape. Combined studies with computed tomography, traditional and geometric morphometrics of endocraneal remains will provide important new evidence about diet, taxonomical and biochronological studies.

Evidences of the use of cattle as draught animals in Chalcolithic of El Portalón (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos)

The management of cattle livestock in a prehistoric society is relevant to approach to the subsistence strategies and the economy of their inhabitants. In this study, 667 bone remains of Bos taurus of Chalcolithic from El Portalon site have been identified. The kill-off pattern indicates a mixed exploitation, with calves slaughtered to obtain the meat (33%), adult cows for dairying and breeding and elderly bulls for traction (67%). The sex bias to adult females (11 remains of cows versus 7 of bulls) suggests that the society relied on dairy activities. Pathologies and lesions associated with draught or load have been identified on 8 bone remains indicating their use in work activities. These indicate the importance not only the husbandry but also the farming.

Exploring the Potential of Laser Ablation Carbon Isotope Analysis for Examining Ecology during the Ontogeny of Middle Pleistocene Hominins from Sima de los Huesos (Northern Spain).

Laser ablation of tooth enamel was used to analyze stable carbon isotope compositions of teeth of hominins, red deer, and bears from middle Pleistocene sites in the Sierra de Atapuerca in northern Spain, to investigate the possibility that this technique could be used as an additional tool to identify periods of physiological change that are not detectable as changes in tooth morphology. Most of the specimens were found to have minimal intra-tooth variation in carbon isotopes (< 2.3‰), suggesting isotopically uniform diets through time and revealing no obvious periods of physiological change. However, one of the two sampled hominin teeth displayed a temporal carbon isotope shift (3.2‰) that was significantly greater than observed for co-occurring specimens. The δ13C value of this individual averaged about -16‰ early in life, and -13‰ later in life. This isotopic change occurred on the canine crown about 4.2 mm from the root, which corresponds to an approximate age of two to four years old in modern humans. Our dataset is perforce small owing to the precious nature of hominid teeth, but it demonstrates the potential utility of the intra-tooth isotope profile method for extracting ontogenetic histories of human ancestors.