Research led by the Universidad de Alcala, Spain, has revisited Early Neolithic human remains found within the Galería del Sílex cave in Spain’s Sierra de Atapuerca cave system.
In a paper, “Early Neolithic human remains from Galería del Sílex in Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain,” published in Quaternary Science Reviews, the team details their analysis of the site, fossils, and context of the remains to untangle the story of the individuals found there.
Humans utilized the Galería del Sílex cave over thousands of years. The cave contains 53 panels of engravings and red and black cave paintings, thousands of human and animal remains, dozens of fire hearth remnants, and fragments of ceramic vessels.
Just as the Bronze Age was ending, the cave entrance was sealed, creating a time capsule that remained intact until its discovery in 1972. Initially, the remains and artifacts were all thought to be from the Bronze Age, but over the years, a more complex picture emerged.
In the decades after discovery, around 2,700 human remains from different cave areas were collected. In addition, numerous hearths and remains of strategically located torches, more than 6,000 ceramic fragments (a minimum of 336 vessels), tools, flint, a polished axe, and 341 animal remains (primarily rabbits) were collected.
2023-08-16 20:48:02
Source from phys.org