Atapuerca fossil excavation. Researchers excavating human and animal fossils from a level in the Gran Dolina site in the Sierra de Atapuerca foothills near Burgos,Spain. The Atapuerca fossil sites are a UNESCO World Heritage Site,containing the earliest human remains found in Europe. The Gran Dolina site contains several levels,with most of the hominid fossils found in the TD-10 level (Homo heidelbergensis,450,000 years old) and the TD-6 level (Homo antecessor,780,000 years old). At Gran Dolina,there are eleven sedimentary strata in total,of which seven are of archaeological and palaeoanthropological interest |