Taphonomic skeletal disturbances in the Sima de los Huesos postcranial remains

Abstract

The postcranial skeleton of fossil hominins is crucial for reconstructing the processes that occurred between the time of death and the recovery of the bones. Thousands of postcranial skeletal fragments from at least 29 hominin individuals have been recovered from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site in Spain. This study's primary objective is to address the main taphonomic features of the postcranial remains from the Sima de los Huesos sample, including antemortem, perimortem, and postmortem skeletal disturbances. We present an updated assessment of the bone surface modification analysis, the fracture pattern analysis, and the skeletal part representation to facilitate interpretation of the biostratinomic and fossil‐diagenetic processes in this large paleoanthropological collection. We conclude that carnivores (probably bears) had limited access to the hominin bones and complete bodies were probably placed in the site.

Metatarsals and foot phalanges from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site (Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)

“…Finally, the large representation of tiny distal pedal phalanges in the SH hominin collection, even more than in the entire worldwide fossil record for Neandertals and fossil Homo sapiens, supports the previously established proposal of an accumulation of complete skeletons in this chamber (Arsuaga et al, 1990;Arsuaga, Martínez, Gracia, Carretero, et al, 1997b;Sala, Martínez, et al, 2024b). This fact is in line with the previous proposal that the hominin sample from SH represents a deliberate accumulation by other humans as an act of intentional funerary behavior.…”

“…The presence in the SH sample of all anatomical elements making up the skeleton, including the tiny distal pedal phalanges, together with the fact that some elements have been associated suggests that complete skeletons were deposited at the SH chamber. The exceptional conservation of the fragile foot phalanges indicates that complete bodies rather than isolated bones arrived at the SH site (Sala, Martínez, et al, 2024b). Furthermore, the large quantity of foot phalanges compared to Neandertals and Upper Paleolithic H. sapiens throughout the world fossil record suggests that complete skeletons were deposited in the site.…”

How the Sima de los Huesos was won

“…So, the injuries would have occurred before the body fell into the chasm and, since these are two fatal injuries, it is inevitable to conclude that the individual was dead before his body fell into the chasm. This interpretation rules out the possibility of casual accidents as the origin of the accumulation and supports the hypothesis of the intentional accumulation of corpses (Sala, Pantoja-Pérez, et al, 2024, Sala, Martínez, et al, 2024.…”

The Sima de los Huesos thorax and lumbar spine: Selected traits and state‐of‐the‐art

“…Since 1976, SH has yielded more than 7000 human fossil remains. Of these, 335 fragments correspond to thoracic vertebrae, 175 to lumbar vertebrae, 652 to ribs and 26 to sternum (see also Sala et al, 2024). In this study, only selected traits in adult individuals are studied.…”