Homo heidelbergensis

The remains of 28 Homo heidelbergensis hominoids recovered from a 43-feet pit at Atapuera, Spain still poses a mystery that is yet to be unraveled by researchers and archaeologists. There lie some different possibilities and theories for how the remains of early human bodies got into Pit of Bones, Atapuera.

Although the presence of bones of cave bears can be attributed to bears accidentally tumbling down a shaft seeking hibernation, early human bodies can only be attributed to an ancient complex ritual culture. Therefore, the site may have been a burial site for the remains of the hominoids accorded simple funeral rites. Some researchers believe that the bodies were purposely disposed of by their relatives in a kind of a special sendoff ritual burial to protect their lineages (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History 2020). The presence of a single stone hand-axe and the fact that no other burial sites exist in the region show that the site could not have been a burial site but rather a site of some ritual cleansing. While Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (2020) showed that the hand axe could have been a tribute to the dead, the discovery of a deformed skull of girl and an elderly man with severely deformed back found in the pit further highlights the special care accorded to death of the disabled. Thus it supports the belief that the site could have been meant for a special burial rite (Marshall 2013).

Since the Neanderthal period was marked by migration, there is a possibility that the remains from the hominoids found could have been killed during hunting or died of natural catastrophes while migrating and their bodies collected and thrown to pits.

Another possibility is that Homo heidelbergensis lived far from the Pit of Bones, most possibly in higher and steeper regions, but through the action of erosion and sedimentation, their bodies were washed away by water. It is important to note that sedimentation is the process of the accumulation of particles resulting from the break up of pre-existing rocks that originated from erosion. This is possible since bones might have been washed away with sediments and rocks, forming a natural sediment trap, which results in the accumulation of the bones (Stanford et al. 2017). The discovery of cave bear bones, sediments, and early humanoids in the Atapuera site further support the archeological and anthropological argument that the movement of rocks, mass flow, and sediments caused the accumulation of masses and bodies, and materials at one point.