First people in Spain

Abstract

We have been digging at sites in Orce and Cueva Victoria in South East Spain that have revealed the oldest evidence of humans in Western Europe. The rich archaeological and palaeontological record comes thanks to the special geology of the area. This is largely the result of ancient tectonic movements: about six million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea drew back and left an isolated saline lake system - marked Baza Lake on the map - that encompassed over 1500km. Thereafter, lake and fluvial deposits accumulated in the lake's basin, until around 400,000 years ago when tectonic movements connected Baza Lake with the Guadalquivir valley. Today, a massive 600m of sediment has built up in the area creating one of Europe's best sedimentary and palaeontological records of the past 6 million years. However, it is the period between 2 and 1 million years that is a key time to unlocking the secrets of the first human dispersion out of Africa.