The Gran Dolina site in Atapuerca reveals an almost exclusive use of local chert 400,000 years ago
Research led by CENIEH with participation from IPHES-CERCA analyzes more than 10,000 stone tools linked to some of the oldest evidence of communal bison hunting
The study demonstrates that Middle Pleistocene hominins strategically selected chert despite having other raw materials available, evidencing complex social organization
The populations that occupied level TD10.2-BB of the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos) approximately 400,000 years ago developed a highly specialized technological strategy based on the almost exclusive use of local chert. This occurred within the context of some of the oldest evidence of communal hunting documented to date in the human record.
This is the main conclusion of an article published in the journal Quaternary International, led by Dr. Andion Arteaga Brieba from the National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH). The work involved collaboration with Dr. Marina Mosquera and Dr. Andreu Ollé from the Rovira i Virgili University and IPHES-CERCA, who are co-directors of the Atapuerca Project. These results are part of a doctoral thesis developed at IPHES-CERCA and defended at URV in 2024 under the direction of both researchers.
The research focuses on this specific level of the site, where intensive occupation associated with the hunting and processing of bisons has been documented. The exceptional archaeological assemblage includes the remains of more than 60 individuals of this species and more than 10,000 lithic tools.
"Level TD10.2-BB of Gran Dolina represents the oldest evidence of communal hunting in the human evolutionary record. The archaeological set contains the remains of the slaughter and processing of more than 60 bisons, documenting an organized hunting activity that required complex strategies and large-scale group coordination," explains Arteaga-Brieba.
Associated with these faunal remains, the team analyzed more than 10,000 lithic tools, identifying a clear preference for the use of local chert, which constitutes nearly 99% of the assemblage. This behavior has no parallels in other Pleistocene sites in the Sierra de Atapuerca, where a greater diversity of raw materials is customary.
Planning and Complex Social Organization
The uniqueness of this pattern is especially significant considering that the Sierra de Atapuerca offers a rich and diverse lithological environment, with availability of chert, quartzites, sandstones, and quartz within a radius of less than five kilometers. However, at TD10.2-BB, an almost exclusive selection of chert is observed that cannot be explained solely by availability factors or physical-mechanical properties.
The authors interpret this behavior as a consequence of a shift in raw material procurement areas—moving from river terraces toward the high zones of the mountain range—directly related to the dynamics of communal hunting. In this context, the procurement of lithic resources would be closely integrated into the subsistence activity itself. Evidence indicates that human groups transported and produced tools strategically, adapting their technological decisions to the specific needs of hunting and butchery tasks.
This pattern reinforces the idea that Middle Pleistocene hominins developed organized behaviors with the capacity for planning, anticipation, and cooperation, especially in large-scale hunting contexts.
"Overall, the study highlights the close relationship between technology, subsistence, and social organization in human populations 400,000 years ago, contributing to a better understanding of the decision-making processes underlying the selection of raw materials in the archaeological record," concludes Andion Arteaga Brieba.
Bibliographic Reference:
Andion Arteaga-Brieba, Marina Mosquera, Andreu Ollé (2026). A matter of choice: Raw material specialisation at the Middle Pleistocene kill-butchering site of Gran Dolina TD10.2 (Atapuerca, Spain), Quaternary International, Volume 765, 110221.