We report new rock magnetic results from a cave in the “Sierra de Atapuerca” (Burgos, North of Spain), that is one of the most important archaeological and palaeontological sites of Lower to Middle Pleistocene in Europe. Our samples are...
moreWe report new rock magnetic results from a cave in the “Sierra de Atapuerca” (Burgos, North of Spain), that is
one of the most important archaeological and palaeontological sites of Lower to Middle Pleistocene in Europe.
Our samples are taken in cave sediments of Gran Dolina Cave. Rock magnetic analyses allowed us to determine
changes in grain size, composition, and concentration in both cave-entrance and cave-interior sediments.
Generally, the cave-entrance sediments are characterized by a high concentration of magnetic minerals while the
cave-interior presents a more variable concentration. Because rock magnetic properties, in particular the iron
oxides, are affected by environmental factors (such as the intensity of physical and chemical weathering) they
offer an important reconstruction proxy for better understanding the paleoenvironmental conditions at the time
the earliest hominins began to migrate into Europe. The main goal of this study is to identify magnetic proxies
that help to better reconstruct the environmental conditions of this archaeological and palaeontological site.
