The Sierra de Atapuerca in northern Spain had long been known to be abundant in

fossil remains. The Gran Dolina ("great sinkhole") was first explored for fossils
by archaeologist Francisco Jordá Cerdá [es] in a short field trip to the region in
1966, where he recovered a few animal fossils and stone tools. He lacked the
resources and manpower to continue any further. In 1976, Spanish palaeontologist
Trinidad Torres investigated the Gran Dolina for bear fossils (he recovered Ursus
remains), but was advised by the Edelweiss Speleological Team to continue at the
nearby Sima de los Huesos ("bone pit"). Here, in addition to a wealth of bear
fossils, he also recovered archaic human fossils, which prompted a massive
exploration of the Sierra de Atapuerca, at first headed by Spanish palaeontologist
Emiliano Aguirre but quickly taken over by José María Bermúdez de Castro, Eudald
Carbonell, and Juan Luis Arsuaga. They restarted excavation of the Gran Dolina in
1992, and found archaic human remains two years later, which in 1997 they formally
described as a new species, Homo antecessor.[1] The holotype is specimen ATD6-5, a
right mandibular fragment retaining the molars and recovered with some isolated
teeth. In their original description Castro and colleagues believed the species was
the first human to colonise Europe, hence the name antecessor (Latin for
"explorer", "pioneer", or "early settler").[2]

The 25 m (82 ft) of Pleistocene sediments at the Gran Dolina are divided into
eleven units, TD1 to TD11 ("trinchera dolina" or "sinkhole trench"). H. antecessor
was recovered from TD6, which has consequently become the most well researched unit
of the site.[3] In the first field seasons from 1994–1995, the dig team excavated a
small test pit (to see if the unit warranted further investigation) in the
southeast section measuring 6 m2 (65 sq ft).[3] Human fossils were discovered first
by Aurora Martín Nájera; the 30 cm (12 in) layer they were found in is nicknamed
the "Aurora Stratum" after her.[4] A 13 m2 (140 sq ft) triangular section was
excavated in the central section starting in the early 2000s.[3] Human fossils were
also found in the northern section. In sum, about 170 H. antecessor specimens were
recovered.[3] The best preserved are ATD6-15 and ATD6-69 (possibly belonging to the
same individual) that most clearly elucidate facial anatomy.[2] Subsequent field
seasons have yielded about sixty more specimens.[1] The discovered parts of the H.
antecessor skeleton are: elements of the face, clavicle, forearm, digits, knees,
and a few vertebrae and ribs.[5]

The mandible ATE9-1

In 2007 a mandibular fragment with some teeth, ATE9-1, provisionally assigned to H.
antecessor by Carbonell, was recovered from the nearby Sima del Elefante ("elephant
pit") in unit TE9 ("trinchera elefante"), belonging to a 20–25-year-old individual.
The site additionally yielded stone flakes and evidence of butchery.[6] In 2011,
after providing a much more in depth analysis of the Sima del Elefante material,
Castro and colleagues were unsure of the species classification, opting to leave it
at Homo sp. (making no opinion on species designation) pending further discoveries.
[7]

The stone tool assemblage at the Gran Dolina is broadly similar to several other
contemporary ones across Western Europe, which may represent the work of the same
species, although this is unconfirmable because many of these sites have not
produced human fossils.[2] In 2014 fifty footprints dating to between 1.2 million
and 800,000 years ago were discovered in Happisburgh, England, which could
potentially be attributed to an H. antecessor group given it is the only human
species identified during that time in Western Europe.[8]