Torralba and Ambrona (archaeological site)

41.155444444444 - 2.4978888888889Koordinaten: 41 ° 9 ' 20 " N, 2 ° 29' 52 " W

The hills Torralba and Ambrona lie about 150 kilometers northeast of Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama, Spain ). On the opposite hills altpaläolithischer a hunting place was built around 400 000 BC

First, in 1888 the bones and a tusk of an extinct Elefantenart were found. 1907 was the Marques de Cerralbo the remains of about 25 forest elephants. 1961 Clark Howell dug paleoanthropologist Francis ( 1925-2007 ) the hill Torralba complete and Ambrona part from.

The excavations revealed numerous bones of about 50 elephants, deer, rhinoceroses, wild horses and other animals to light. In addition to stone tools, gravel equipment, hand axes, splitting wedges and discount devices were found fragments of numerous conical pointed wooden sticks, some of which have cuts, hack marks, luster tracks and fire- hardened points, which point to use as pushing or throwing weapon.

A Homo erectus group had here at least 10 times stopped as the wild on its annual migrations vorbeizog here. Howell developed the following hypothesis: If hunts elephants were predominantly been killed that were apparently driven by grass fires in the marshy grounds of a nearby river, where they got stuck and could easily be killed. This hypothesis is now regarded as not covered by the finds.

Remarkable is the almost complete absence of the skull of prey as well as the discovery of the right half of an elephant, which was with the fur side upwards, while the left was missing. Even the discovery of a tusk and five leg bones, while others formed a straight line at right angles to it, is puzzling. Perhaps they represent a hunting magic or ritual acts dar. skeletal remains of Homo erectus, and traces of his dwelling, similar to Terra Amata other hand, were not found.

A visit to the Archaeological Museum Yacimiento - de Ambrona was recommended on site and it is located in Ctra. Torrabla - Miño de Medinaceli in 42230 Ambrona.