Environmental Reconstruction from the Identification of Magnetic Minerals in the Upper Sedimentary Infill of the Gran Dolina Cave (Burgos, Spain)

The cave system in the Sierra de Atapuerca holds one of the most important archaeological sites for the understanding of early human occupation in Europe. Among the different cavities and galleries, the Gran Dolina cave yielded a new hominin species coined as Homo antecessor of an Early Pleistocene age. Encouraged by our previous results in Gran Dolina, we carried out a study to extend and deepen our rockmagnetic investigation of the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the upper Gran Dolina cave based on experiments that include composition, relative concentration, and grain size of the magnetic iron oxides present in the sediments. Based on the rockmagnetic experiments, we identified magnetite, hematite, goethite, and possibly maghemite in changeable amounts along the profile, which allows us to complement the existing shortage in the literature on the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the site. We tentatively interpret the rockmagnetic changes recorded in the cave sediments in terms of glacial/interglacial conditions, furnishing the base for a better understanding for the formation conditions of this unprecedented archaeological site.

Automated summary

The cave system in Sierra de Atapuerca is crucial for understanding early human occupation in Europe. Gran Dolina cave, in particular, yielded a new hominin species called Homo antecessor. Through rockmagnetic investigation, we identified various magnetic iron oxides in the sediments, which helps in reconstructing the paleoenvironment and understanding the formation conditions of the archaeological site.