More info at http://nutcrackerman.com/2015/01/20/focus-on-the-sima-de-los-huesos/ This describes the key fossils extracted from the Sima de los Huesos site in Atapuerca, Spain. Most of them are exhibited at the Museo de la Evolución Humana (Museum of Human Evolution), in Burgos, a city located 14 km from the Atapuerca sites.

1. 1
Roberto Sáezv. 20/01/2015 nutcrackerman.com
Main fossils from the Sima de los Huesos

2. 2
Cranium 5, nicknamed ‘Miguelón’
It belonged to a 35 year-old male. He suffered great pain in the mouth due to
a blow that broke a tooth, which caused a serious infection and inflammation
in the left side of the face.

3. 3
Humerus 2
It belonged to an adult male
about 1.75 m. tall. It appeared
in 3 parts and is one of the few
complete bones found in Sima
de los Huesos. The epiphysis
are fused to the bone,
indicating that his growth was
completed.

4. 4
Hand X
It was reconstructed from 22
bones of adults. It is very
similar to the hand in modern
humans, but with key
differences such as the wider
distal phalanges. This hand
suggests the ability to handle
objects with high precision.

5. 5
Pelvis, nicknamed Elvis
It belonged to a man who lived
more than 45 years. It is the
most complete pelvis in the
fossil record. The key feature is
its width, suggesting to belong
to a very robust man. He was
1.70 m tall and had a weight of
100 kg of pure muscle.

6. 6
Tibia 1
It belonged to an adult male
who was 1.74 m tall. It shows
big thickness of the bone wall,
indicating that the individual
was very robust.

7. 7
Foot, nicknamed ‘Vicente del Bosque’
It belonged to an adult male who was 1.73 m tall and had a weight of 90 kg. It is
the right foot, reconstructed from all the bones found of the ankle, heel and instep
of the same individual.

8. 8
Excalibur
It is a handaxe made of red quartzite. It is
the only tool found in the Sima de los
Huesos and its material is very singular,
not common in the area. Its discovery in
1998 gave some light to the potential
cause of the large-scale assemblage of
bodies in the Sima. The Atapuerca
scientists think that Sima is a deliberate
assemblage of corpses and the tool is
associated to this act. This would imply
to be one the oldest evidence of
symbolic or ritual (perhaps funerary)
behavior in the Prehistory.

9. 9
nutcrackerman.com
On June 20th 2014, the
analysis of 17 crania from
the Sima de los Huesos was
published in Science,
including 7 new specimens.
Let’s hope that they all will
be exhibited soon! Photo: Javier Trueba /
Madrid Scientific Films