Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). The site

Abstract

In this article a topographical description of the Cueva Mayor-Cueva de Silo cave system is provided, including a more detailed topography of the Sala de los Cíclopes-Sala de las O seras-Sima de los Huesos sector. The history of the excavations and discoveries of human and carnivore fossils in Sima de los Huesos and adjacent passages is briefly reported, as well as the increase, throughout the succeeding field seasons, of the human collection and changes in the relative representation of the different skeletal elements and major biases. The carnivore assemblage structure is also considered. Examining the characteristics of the bone breccia, and the current and ancient karst topography, different alternative accesses are discussed for the accumulation of carnivores and humans in the Sima de los Huesos. Taking into account all the available information, an anthropic origin for the accumulation of human fossils seems to us to be the most likely explanation.