Click on each site to find out more.

2. The archaeological sites in the Atapuerca Mountains in Burgos are a point of reference for the study of human evolution. They are located between the Demanda Mountains in the south and the foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains in the north. • The Atapuerca excavations, made of limestone, span corridors, caves and underground passages which provided shelter for prehistoric animals and humans.. • Some of the most important sites are: The Sima del elefante site The Gran dolina site The Sima de los huesos site The Galería del sílex site Click on each site to find out more.

3. The Sima del elefante site • This site is located in a shaft known as the Trinchera del Ferrocarril and is 18 metres thick. A dig began in the lower layers in 1996. • Archaeologists found a wealth of remains of fauna, including deer, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, wolves, lynx, bears, etc. In the year 2000, they found flakes of flint, evidence that humans were present on the site at least one million years ago. • Digs in higher levels yielded remains of elephants, hyenas, lions, horses, rhinoceroses and bison. • In 2007, archaeologists discovered a human jawbone in association with the flint chips dating from more than 1,200,000 years ago. Go back to the Start menu

4. The Gran dolina site • This site is located in the shaft known as the Trinchera del Ferrocarril and is 16 metres deep. • In 1994, fragments of human remains were discovered; they belonged to six individuals who lived about 800,000 year ago. • The remains were evidence of a new species, one of the first populations to reach mainland Europe. It was named Homo antecessor, the successor of Neanderthals and Sapiens. • After studying the remains and the marks found on them, archaeologists determined that cuts on the bones were evidence of cannibalism.. Homo antecessor Go back to the Start menu

5. The Sima de los huesos site • This site is part of a karstic system and is about 13 metres deep. • It is home to the largest deposit of human fossils ever found in one place; they date back approximately 500,000 years. • In addition to the remains of bears, lions, lynx and wild cats, archaeologists discovered a great number of individuals of the species Homo heidelbergensis. • The researchers working at Atapuerca attribute the abundance of remains in the pit to a funerary practice. Go back to the Start menu

6. The Galería del sílex site • A number of panels of post-Palaeolithic rock art are preserved on the walls of this site. • Some of the most significant art depicts anthropomorphic figures, some of which appear alongside animals (suggesting domestication); others are carrying weapons. • Archaeologists have also found remains belonging to humans and an enormous variety of domesticated animals. Go back to the Start menu