The Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) is once again participating prominently in the annual excavation campaign at the Atapuerca archaeological and palaeontological sites, which this year reaches its 49th edition. A large team of researchers, technicians and support staff from the centre is involved in the fieldwork carried out by the Atapuerca Research Team (EIA), whose scientific co-directors are Juan Luis Arsuaga, María Martinón-Torres, José Miguel Carretero, Marina Mosquera, Ignacio Martínez, Alfonso Benito-Calvo and Andreu Ollé.

The official launch of the excavation season has taken place today at the Atapuerca sites in Burgos, northern Spain. During the second half of June, 120 researchers have begun work at Sima del Elefante, Gran Dolina (TD3 level), Penal, Cueva Fantasma and Cueva del Mirador. From 2 July onwards, excavations will expand to the remaining sites in the Railway Trench and the Cueva Mayor cave system, while sediment-washing operations will also begin along the Arlanzón River. More than 300 participants are expected to take part in the campaign across three excavation shifts.

Among the main scientific objectives is the continuation of excavations at Sima del Elefante, one of the key sites for understanding the earliest human occupations of Western Europe around 1.2 million years ago. Work at Gran Dolina will focus both on the lower levels (TD3) and on the iconic TD6 layer, known as the Aurora Stratum, where the remains of Homo antecessor and some of the oldest evidence of human presence in Europe, dating to approximately 850,000 years ago, have been uncovered.

Research will also continue at Galería, Penal and Cueva Fantasma, sites that are providing crucial insights into the geological evolution of the Sierra de Atapuerca and the history of human occupation during the Pleistocene. At Cueva del Mirador, investigations into prehistoric farming and herding communities will advance through the study of archaeological, environmental and archaeobotanical evidence.

Within the Cueva Mayor cave system, excavations will be carried out at Sima de los Huesos, the world's richest Middle Pleistocene human fossil site, where more than 7,000 human fossils dating to around 430,000 years ago have been recovered to date. Work will also continue at Galería de las Estatuas, which has yielded evidence of Neanderthal occupations and ancient DNA, and at El Portalón, a key site for understanding the emergence and development of early farming societies in the Iberian Peninsula.

As in previous years, sediments recovered during the excavations will be processed through systematic washing and sieving along the banks of the Arlanzón River. This work is essential for recovering remains of small vertebrates, whose fossils provide valuable information on past environments, climatic conditions and the chronology of the archaeological deposits.

Participants in the 2026 excavation campaign come primarily from the institutions that make up the Atapuerca Project, including CENIEH, the University of Burgos, IPHES, Rovira i Virgili University, the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of Alcalá, the University of Zaragoza, the University of the Basque Country and the University of León, as well as several international partner institutions.

The 2026 field season once again reinforces Atapuerca’s position as one of the world's leading research projects on human evolution and highlights the contribution of CENIEH to advancing knowledge of our evolutionary past.