Sima de los Huesos, Prehistoric archaeological cave in Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain.
Sima de los Huesos is a prehistoric cave and archaeological site located in the Sierra de Atapuerca in Spain. The fossil chamber sits at the bottom of a vertical shaft 13 meters deep (about 43 feet), opening into a space 8 by 4 meters where more than 6,500 human bone fragments have been recovered.
The bone remains date back approximately 430,000 years and belong to at least 28 different individuals. Genetic studies show a mix of Neanderthal and Denisovan traits in this early population.
The cave holds evidence suggesting early human groups potentially practiced deliberate burial rituals, indicated by the presence of an Acheulean hand axe.
The cave is not accessible to visitors and is only entered by research teams. To reach the bone chamber, researchers use the Cueva Mayor entrance and travel about 500 meters through the cave system before arriving at the shaft.
A handaxe from the Acheulean period was found among the bones and is the only stone tool at this location. This discovery suggests the bones were deliberately placed in the shaft, possibly as part of early burial practices.
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