Atapuerca’s research team will detail a finding of great scientific value this Friday
The excavation campaign in the Sierra de Atapuerca deposits promises this year. And it is that, in just a few days the news has happened and yesterday the research team reported the discovery of what appears to be the “face of the first European” documented.
At the moment, the details of the discovery are unknown, which will be officially presented tomorrow by the Council’s Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports, Gonzalo Santonja; and by the three co-directors of the Atapuerca project: Juan Luis Arsuaga, José María Bermúdez de Castro and Eudald Carbonell.
Pending all the details, the discovery is said to have taken place in the Sima del Elefante, the oldest site in the entire Sierra de Atapuerca, located in the middle of the trench of the railway. There, at level TE9, the oldest human remains in Western Europe were found years ago, dating back 1.3 million years. Specifically, in 2007 a premolar was located, in 2008 a lower jaw and a phalanx of the hand and in 2009 a small fragment of the humerus.
In this sense, it should be noted that this year’s campaign confirmed the existence of a sediment level older than the level initially documented at the said site, the age of which has been dated to about 1.4 million years.
It is a sandstone level where remains and fossil evidence of turtles were found in the early days of the campaign. This level is below another, formed by clay where remains of turtles and suids were found last year, as well as a quartz flake, which so far is the only evidence of human presence in the Sierra, about 1.4 million years ago.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
