Key facts

• Homo antecessor (Gran Dolina, c. 800,000–900,000 BP): the oldest known hominid in Western Europe and possibly the last common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans — the fossil remains of at least 6 individuals of Homo antecessor were found in a layer (known as TD6) of the Gran Dolina cave at Atapuerca in 1994; the fossils include parts of facial skeleton, teeth, and limb bones; they were dated to approximately 800,000–900,000 years before present, making them the oldest known hominid fossils in Western Europe; the species name Homo antecessor (“Pioneer Man”) was given by the Spanish paleoanthropologists Eudald Carbonell, Juan Luis Arsuaga, and José María Bermúdez de Castro in 1997; the morphology of the fossil faces (particularly the mid-face region, which closely resembles modern Homo sapiens faces rather than Neanderthal faces) suggested to the discoverers that Homo antecessor might be the last common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans — a hypothesis still debated; the Gran Dolina layer also showed clear evidence of cannibalism (cut marks on human bones identical in pattern to cut marks on deer and other food animals, indicating that Homo antecessor butchered and consumed other members of their own species — the oldest known evidence of cannibalism in the fossil record)
• The Sima de los Huesos (“Pit of Bones”, c. 430,000 BP): the world’s largest accumulation of pre-modern human fossils — the Sima de los Huesos is a narrow vertical shaft in a cave complex at Atapuerca, approximately 13 metres deep and only wide enough for one person to descend at a time; at the bottom of the shaft, paleontologists have found the disarticulated bones of at least 28 individuals (the minimum number determined from the identified skeletal elements, counting the most represented bone type for right and left sides; the total individual count may be higher) of Homo heidelbergensis (c. 430,000 BP); Homo heidelbergensis was a larger-brained and more cognitively advanced hominid than Homo antecessor; it was the direct ancestor of Neanderthals in Europe; the 28 individuals include adolescents, young adults, and mature adults of both sexes; the accumulation was intentional — there is no evidence that the shaft served as a pitfall trap or a natural predator lair; the deliberate deposition of the dead (possibly a proto-funerary practice — perhaps the earliest known intentional treatment of the dead) and the presence of a single perfectly knapped bifacial hand axe (named “Excalibur” by the excavators) in a distinctive red quartzite not found in the local geological record have suggested to some researchers that the Sima de los Huesos represents the world’s oldest known funerary practice — though this interpretation is contested
• The Museo de la Evolución Humana (Museum of Human Evolution), Burgos: the principal visitor infrastructure for Atapuerca — the Museum of Human Evolution (2010; designed by the architect Juan Navarro Baldeweg; the most visited museum in Castile and León; approximately 300,000 visitors per year) is the place to see the Atapuerca discoveries; the museum holds the original fossil casts (the originals are in Madrid), the stone tools, and the faunal evidence from all the Atapuerca sites; it places the Atapuerca findings in the full context of human evolution from the first hominids in Africa (Ardipithecus, Australopithecus) through Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens; the guided tours to the actual excavation sites (July and August only; organized by the Atapuerca Foundation; advance booking required) allow visitors to see the active archaeological dig in progress (excavations are ongoing every summer)
• Heritage: UNESCO World Heritage Site, Archaeological Site of Atapuerca, inscribed 2000
• GPS: 42.3690° N, -3.5122° W