Atapuerca

Atapuerca
The Archaeological Site of Atapuerca is the finding place of fossils and stone tools of the earliest known hominids in Europe, dating to between 780,000 and 1 million years ago. Several remains of the Homo heidelbergensis were found, the predecessor to the Neanderthal.

The site lies in the Sierra de Atapuerca, an ancient karstic region of Spain containing several caves. They were inhabited also during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Its people left paintings and engravings in the cave walls.

The sites in this area were found during the construction of a railway. Scientific exploration started in 1964.

Year Decision Comments
2000 Inscribed Reasons for inscription



Visit August 2009

Atapuerca is quite a hard site to grasp, as most early hominid WHS are. The remains were found in caves in the Sierra de Atapuerca, an ancient karst landscape. There's not much to see of that nowadays: the surroundings can be described as 'hilly' at the most. It is mainly flat and dry Spanish land. Lots of Santiago de Compostela-pilgrims on the road by the way!

Unfortunately I didn't have much time to spend in the area, so I opted for a guided tour through the archeological park. It's only a small area, and the tour is filled with (long!) explanations. The ranger shows how early man made tools from stone, and how to make fire.

If you've got a day to spare, there are several guided tours on offer from both the towns of Atapuerca and Ibeas de Juarros. They include 2-hour trips to the caves in Yacimiento. I would try to pre-book here. Despite the 'difficult' theme, it's quite a popular site. There's also a museum and a visitor center (and a café / restaurant or two).

More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery

Reviews

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We could visit the archaeological park on a selfguided tour only without access to the actual excarvations. History is reconstructed by replicas of huts and fences demonstrating how our ancestors may have lived and hunted here until a few thounds years ago. I strongly recommend to arrange for a guided tour as it would give you a much better value add.
 


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