Anthropological tourism in Northern Spain and Southern France

Human Evolution Museum

Human Evolution Museum

Found in Atapuerca, Burgos. It was declared World Heritage Site in 2015 by the UNESCO. It is found near the Atapuerca site.

Hyperrealistic recreations of different Australopithecus and Homo species can be seen: Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus boisei, Homo habilis, Homo georgicus, Homo ergaster, Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo rhodesiensis. Also, the recreation of the fundamental ecosystems that allowed the evolution of humans can be found: the rainforest, the savannah and the tundra-steppe of the last glaciation.

Human Evolution Museum’s web page: http://www.museoevolucionhumana.com/

Atapuerca site

It is located on Atapuerca Mountains, Spain. The site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, under the name, Archaeological Site of Atapuerca. It is group of archaeological and paleontological sites that contain the most antique remains of the Iberian Peninsula.

One of the most important finding in this site are the remains of Homo antecessor found in Gran Dolina (one of the sites that composes the whole place), the oldest human species found in Europe.

More information at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/historia/grandes-reportajes/atapuerca-la-cunade-los-humanos-mas-antiguos-de-europa_7021/3

https://www.atapuerca.org/

Altamira cave and the Altamira Museum

Pehistoric painting found in Altamira

It is a natural cave found in Santillana del Mar, Cantabria. It has been designed World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. Different well preserved prehistoric paintings can be found.

The original cave cannot be visited. However, there is a replica that can be visited, the ‘Neocueva del Museo de Altamira’.

More information at: https://turismodecantabria.com/disfrutala/que-visitar/11-cueva-de-altamira

Lascaux cave

It is a cave system found in Dordoña, France. In these caves the paleolithic cave art can be seen. The original cave cannot be visited but there are several duplications:

Lascaux II: an exact copy of the Great Hall of the Bulls and the Painted Gallery. The paintings for this site were duplicated with the same type of materials (iron oxide, charcoal and ochre).

Lascaux III: a recreation of part of the cave that is displayed in several museums around the world.

Lascaux IV: it is a copy of all the painted areas of the cave. It is a larger and more accurate replica that integrates digital technology into the display.

Duplication of a painting found in Lascaux (Lascaux II)