Located in the northern Spanish province of Cantabria, El Castillo Cave has been of archaeological importance since it was discovered in 1903. The cave is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is best known for Upper Paleolithic rock paintings attributed to anatomically modern humans.

However, the history of the cave goes back even further, as there is evidence that it was repeatedly visited by Neanderthals even before Homo sapiens appeared on the Iberian Peninsula. Human remains were found along with Mousterian artifacts and faunal remains.

What did the remains in the cave tell us?

In the latest study, scientists led by María Dolores Harralda of the Complutense University of Madrid, in collaboration with experts from Germany, Spain and France, presented the results of the study of additional human remains from the cave, which was carried out on remains from different years. Contains Mousterian tools.

Among the analyzed samples, three important finds come from the area known as “XX”. The age of the deposit in this area is approx. from 47,000 to 70.4 ± 9.6 thousand years ago. Marking the end of the fourth marine isotopic stage or the beginning of the third in 1998, the oldest find excavated from sediments is a remarkably well-preserved tooth. This tooth was identified as a maxillary left second premolar, characterized by Neanderthal morphology. In particular, the premolar extracted from El Castillo is characterized by an extremely strong enamel layer and a special pulp structure.

Neanderthal female from El Castillo cave / Photo Journal of Anthropological Sciences

The other two finds come from deeper layers of sedimentary rocks. more than 57 thousand years old.

• FirstIt is part of the proximal phalanx of a finger, possibly the index finger of an adult, found in 2001. The dimensions of this tiny bone are only 22.7×10.9×8.8 millimeters.
• SecondFragment of a femoral head, possibly belonging to an eight-year-old boy, found in 2003.

Fragment of finger phalanx from El Castillo cave / Photo Journal of Anthropological Sciences

While definitive classification of a particular ancient human species is difficult due to the lack of diagnostic features, the researchers estimate Neanderthal ancestry based on contextual evidence and age assessments.

This work deepens our understanding of the Neanderthal presence in El Castillo Cave and provides a glimpse into the lives of these ancient inhabitants. By studying these skeletal fragments, scientists continue to unravel the complex narrative of human evolution and migration across corridors of distant time.