A paper published in the journal Quaternary International reveals a distinctive technological behavior at level TD10.2-BB of Gran Dolina (Atapuerca, Burgos), characterized by the almost exclusive use of local chert and linked to one of the earliest pieces of evidence of communal hunting in the human evolutionary record, dated to around 400,000 years ago.
The research, led by Andion Arteaga Brieba, a researcher at The Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), in collaboration with IPHES and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona), focuses on this level of the Atapuerca site, where an intensive occupation associated with bison hunting and processing has been documented.
"Level TD10.2-BB of Gran Dolina represents the earliest evidence of communal hunting in the human evolutionary record. The archaeological assemblage contains the remains of the slaughter and processing of more than 60 bison, documenting an organized hunting activity that required complex strategies and large-scale group coordination," explains Arteaga-Brieba.
Associated with these faunal remains, the team has analyzed more than 10,000 lithic artifacts, identifying a clear preference for the use of local chert, which accounts for almost 99% of the assemblage.
This behavior has no parallels with other Pleistocene sites in the Sierra de Atapuerca, where a greater diversity of raw materials is typically observed.