Archaeological Site of Atapuerca, Atapuerca, Spain

The Archaeological Site of Atapuerca is located near the city of Burgos. The property contains a rich fossil record of the earliest human beings in Europe, from nearly one million years ago and extending into the Common Era. It constitutes an exceptional scientific reserve that provides priceless information about the appearance and way of life of these remote human ancestors.

The Sierra de Atapuerca sites provide unique testimony of the origin and evolution both of the existing human civilization and of other cultures that have disappeared. The evolutionary line or lines from the African ancestors of modern humankind are documented in these sites. The earliest and most abundant evidence of humankind in Europe is found in the Sierra de Atapuerca. The sites constitute an exceptional example of continuous human occupation, due to their special ecosystems and their geographical location. The fossil remains in the Sierra de Atapuerca are an invaluable reserve of information about the physical nature and the way of life of the earliest human communities in Europe. In addition, painted and engraved panels have been recorded, with geometrical motifs, hunting scenes, and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures.

The deposits of the property are dated from the Pleistocene with the deposits of the Trinchera del Ferrocarril, (Gran Dolina, Galería-Tres Simas, Sima del Elefante) and the Cueva Mayor (Sima de los Huesos), and from the Holocene period (El Portalón de Cueva Mayor, Galería del Sílex, Cueva del Silo, Cueva del Mirador). There are also archaeological sites of other periods from Prehistoric Times (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age) to the Middle Ages and later.

References:

UNESCO

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Alejandro Dorado (5 years ago)
Magical place to reflect on the origins of human being. I recommend specially the museum in the city centre of Burgos, there you can take a bus with a guided tour to the place where they make the excavations during the spring and summer

Marijo Izarzugaza (6 years ago)
Fenomenal para continuar después de visitar el yacimiento. Te explican con ejemplos practicos como realizaban las armas como cazaban etc... Y encima puedes probar tu también

Obilor Ugwulali (8 years ago)
A great place for kids to learn about the history of their ancestors.

Archaeological Site of Atapuerca

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