Galería Complex site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain): updating the Middle Pleistocene occupations

Abstract

Galería Complex is an archaeological site located at Trinchera del Ferrocarril (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos) characterized by a significant Middle Pleistocene human occupation. The systematic excavation includes the areas known as Galería (with the Sinkhole of TN, excavated between 1980-1995) and Cueva de los Zarpazos (excavated between 2002 and 2010). This deposit has a sequence of five stratigraphic units and a soil, with an important archaeological and palaeontological record 500 to 200 ka years old. This site has been related with the hominin fossils found at Sima de los Huesos site and the archaeological sequences of the level TD10 of Gran Dolina site. New archaeological interventions started in 2010 with the main objective of checking the previous information about the occupations in Galería and extending the archaeological, taphonomical, sedimentological and palynological knowledge about the environmental conditions of these occupations. This paper presents the updated type stratigraphic sequence of Galería site, which includes a synthetic relation of the different sections with the geological and archaeological units. This type sequence intends to be a reference for fieldwork reviewing progresses and for the future research, as well as support the archaeological palimpsest character of the GSU subunits of TG11 level. The new excavations have provided more than 970 faunal remains and 56 lithic artifacts. The lithics were made basically on Neogene chert and the faunal assemblage is represented mainly by axial and cranial elements of cervid and equid individuals. The overall dynamics observed seem to be the same than those identified in the former interventions, this is, that the humans and carnivores vied for the existing animals resources. We emphasize that the new works have uncovered evidences of human occupation in the GIV unit, traditionally considered sterile.