Discovery of a Neanderthal site

It has been found in the Sima de las Palomas , in the town of Torre Pacheco

Archaeologists working in the pit of the Doves , the Cabezo Gordo, in the municipality of Torre Pacheco, Murcia , in the area have found a habitat with food remains, tools and human bones, probably a group of Neanderthals with an estimated age about 70,000 years .

In a press conference , Professor at the University of Murcia and the research project director , Michael Walker, explained today that the drilling campaign this year have worked on a layer of conglomerate "surprisingly rich ' utensils and charred remains of animals consuming the inhabitants of the cave.

Walker noted that Neanderthals hunted animals in the immediate environment , including those who have documented horses, rabbits and poultry , and inside the cave , the roasted and ate.

Among the tools found in this season of excavation, the researchers have highlighted the presence of a thick Mousterian flint point blank , a useful characteristic Neanderthal .

The project manager explained that the archaeological remains have appeared in a very compact cluster , probably formed in a time of extreme cold, which would have a length of between 60,000 and 70,000 years.

Walker recalled that in this way has been demonstrated in the pit a different use of the burial site that had documented his team in previous seasons, with the appearance of the remains of at least nine individuals with their members quite articulate yet, and a dating of 55,000 years old.

Researchers have noted that the last time you could dig a Neanderthal skeleton was articulated 35 years ago in a French site , and have been assured that the remains probably were buried intentionally , as they have appeared and lying in a slightly flexed .

This site was discovered in 1991 by chance , when a person doing abseiling down the inside of the cave became aware of the presence of some upper and lower jaws on one wall , which ultimately proved to be a Neanderthal .

The archaeological work began the following year with the emptying and miners sifting the debris that filled part of the pit and had plenty of fossils, and have remained until today.