El Patrimonio Paleobiológico de Orce

Abstract

Here we show the paleobiological heritage (including the archaeological one) of the Orce region, in the Guadix-Baza Basin, which is known in the scientific literature as the "Spanish Olduvai", and it is the most abundant and best preserved of the European continent related to the earliest Quaternary. It is described the paleontological site of Venta Micena (~1.5 Ma), and the archaeo-paleontological sites of Fuente Nueva 3 and Barranco León, where it is recorded the earliest evidences with human presence in western Europe, dated 1.3-1.4 Ma. This heritage is unfortunately little known by the great public, and it is necessary to begin to use the new techniques of virtual palaeontology and archaeology with aim to spread and put it in value.