Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Little Lesson: Hundreds of thousands of years of history

For hundreds of thousands of years, the walls of Lezetxiki have protected men and women and wild animals that competed with them for survival. Centimetres by centimetres, metres by metres, their fossilized history has been piled up on the ground. A few decades have been long enough for researchers to bring them from darkness to light

Here is Mondragón, or Mondragón. It is located in the centre of Gipuzkoa and is home to 22,000 people. Thanks to the cooperative movement of the same name, the town is known all over the world. He has witnessed a series of magnifications, revolutions and violent wars throughout history. But these are all things that have happened in the last millennium.

At the confluence of the Aramaio and Deba rivers, at the foot of Mount Udalaitz, long before the creation of the village of Arrasate, men and women took the first steps of humanity in this geographical environment.

This half-fallen harp is Lezetxiki. For hundreds of thousands of years, these walls have protected men and women and wild animals that competed with them for survival. Centimetres by centimetres, metres by metres, their fossilized history has been piled up on the ground.

A few decades have been long enough for researchers to bring them from darkness to light.

LEZETXIKI, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF HISTORY

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: If I'm not mistaken, this is the only site in the Iberian Peninsula that contains the physical remains, bones, plus the paleontological site of Cro-Magnona, the Neanderthal and Heidelbergensis. I don’t think there’s anything like it anywhere else on the Iberian Peninsula.

JESUS THE HIGH: It is a site of great importance, also seen from many perspectives.

The oldest human remains found in the Basque Country were discovered in 1964 by the team led by Lezetxikin Joxe Migel Barandiaran.
It is a fossilized bone that is stored in the Archaeological Heritage Deposit of San Sebastián, as if it were a precious jewel.

It is estimated that one in a billion bones is fossilized. And one of them, after tens of thousands of years underground, was recovered by the Barandiaran team.
It is a skull; it has a very advanced degree of fossilization, and because it was above a layer of iron-clay, it is earthy in some parts. The fossilized skull was discovered by Jesus the High himself.

JESUS THE HIGH: That's where we found that bone. In a very special place. In Lezetxiki, at the bottom of all these levels (...)

The fossil remains were exposed at a depth of nine meters. At this depth, tools and animal remains dating back to the time of the human species Homo Heidelbergensis have been discovered.

JESUS THE HIGH: It appeared in two pieces, and there was a little bit missing between these two pieces, and we took advantage of this gap to remove a piece of bone from there, and of course we saw that there was nothing to be done through the radiocarbon, because the radiocarbon reaches 50,000 years and it was much older. And that's how it happened. So we wondered if there was something that could be done through the uranium thorium. We sent that little piece to London, but they didn't show us anything new. But stratigraphy shows us this bone that is notional, but they don’t know exactly.

The excavations in Lezetxiki were completed in 1968 by Joxe Miguel Barandiarán. 28 years later, another working group of the Aranzadi Science Society reopened the site.

The initial objective of the working group, led by Álvaro Arrizabalaga, was to reform the interpretation of the site. Since then, every year excavation work has been carried out in Lezetxiki.

Researchers analyze the fossilized bones, instrumentation, and physical context of the ancient ancestors of humanity.

The traces collected in Lezetxiki are cleaned, classified and analyzed in the Faculty of Letters of the University of the Basque Country.

Barandiaran's team found the bone of a human being who was about 30-35 years old when he died. But it is not clear whether it was a man or a woman. Because they have not survived, there is no choice but to make a comparison with Homo sapiens to describe what the ancient human species were like. And this comparison does not clearly indicate whether this old man was a man or a woman. However, the man who left his arm in Lezetxiki was strong, at least stronger than the average of the 21st century humans.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: The tendon connects the muscle pack to the bone. Then, depending on the strength of the human being, they will be stronger or lighter, and in this case they are very strong.

They were much stronger than us. We know this well, even though they are not, on average, higher in height than our species. They were a little lower, but much stronger. Heavy, and much stronger in terms of strength than our species.

But what species is that?

400,000 years ago, Homo Heidelbergensis lived in Europe. After hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, Homo became Neanderthalensis.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: The forearm is chronologically located between the two. In this evolutionary line, in a middle point. Heidelbergensis is probably very new chronologically, or one of the oldest among Neanderthals. The uniqueness of Lezetxiki’s skull lies precisely in the fact that it has a discontinuity, because it fills the void in the fossil record.

The environment of the cave that this human being knew has changed a lot in hundreds of thousands of years. However, by studying pollen and coal from herbs and trees that have been fossilized in the sediment, one can go back in time and describe the physical environment.

MARIA JOSE IRIARTE; UPV/EHU: The pollen is well stored in the sediment. This allows us to know what vegetation and plant associations existed at that time; and also to know, indirectly, what climatic conditions they had in the area.

Pollen’s analysis has revealed that during cold periods the forest becomes red and the landscape is shaped by pine trees and birches. In temperate times, the forest closes and expands.

if we go back 150,000 years, we would be at a warm moment until the glaciation.

That is, the man who forms the link between Heidelbergensis and the Neanderthals knew the lush forest.

MARIA JOSE IRIARTE; UPV/EHU: There was a mixed forest; there were oaks, a marvellous lime, hazelnuts... In the lower stream there were halves and there were also arts in the rock areas around Lezetxiki.

This green landscape was by no means peaceful. Humans lived in a life and death contest against carnivorous animals. In addition to what the forest offered, they needed bison, deer, horses to feed, hunted by humans themselves or captured by others.

ORIA VILLALUENGA; UPV/EHU: In many cases it has been observed that humans were exterminators at that time. How the lions hunted a bison, and from behind the humans came, and the lions were driven away, and the remnants of the remaining bison were eaten. Many times they were not the ones who hunted.

The remains of herbivorous animals stopped in Lezetxiki because the humans who ate them took them to the place and left the remains in the cave.

ORIA VILLALUENGA; UPV/EHU: Inside the cave, the animal was torn to pieces, and the bones were torn apart to eat and the inner medulla. And those pieces have been left with fire-cut marks, or we can see percussions, blows.

For the fragmentation of the hunters, among other things, these ancient humans used stone tools. In the excavation sessions of Lezetxiki, between 40 and 50 stone objects are found each year.

Bulldozers, unworked trousers or tools that have already been worked... These tools make it clear that Heidelbergensis did not have very advanced technology.

ÁLVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: They are not very demanding, neither from the point of view of the first issue, they take what is more or less available, they do not transport the first quality items from very far away, they are satisfied with what is around them. The firestone has a much lower weight than the one it has in the middle or upper paleolithic, and also technologically they work very few types of tools and they are all versatile.

The technical procedure for making the double-sided axe commonly used by humans of the upper and middle paleolithic age is somewhat complex. They would have made similar technical gestures to make lightweight and versatile tools with sharp edges.

MIKEL AGIRRE; UNED: Blows are always on the edge. The initial striking is carried out with a solid stone striker in order to remove a considerable amount of mass and reduce its thickness. At the end, the piece is struck lightly with an organic striker, which may also be a deer. In this way, the resulting parts are flatter and the finish is more polished.

This is a technical process, a rather complex procedure. And yet they were able to do so if the humans found at the base levels of Lezetxiki were able to do so.

This is some kind of Paleolithic agitator. It does everything: cut, crush, crush... We have a paleolithic kitchen robot. It can also be used as a core. With the bifaze itself divided, we can make smaller knives or knives for cutting and other tasks.

The result satisfied the needs of these human beings.

It is believed that those humans who were able to use technology could have had a language similar to ours to communicate. Thanks to the footprints found in other parts of Europe, scientists know that ancient human species listened in a similar way to us and, as a result, could have a language similar to ours. At least they had that ability.

To reach this conclusion, the Atapuerca site has been key.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: In recent years they have studied the small bones that appear in the ear and how the morphology of the canal, the canal of the ear, was. And from this they conclude that they listened more or less like us, and from this they conclude that they could probably have had a very similar language, at least they could have had it in potential.

As we deepened our knowledge, Lezetxiki was a temporary home for those human groups that we imagine to be more and more human.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: We've been having fixed rooms for very little time. Just the last 6,000 years, all around us. Before that, all population groups are itinerant.

These populations moved almost continuously, in small groups. They would change locations 15 to 20 times a year.
For these trips, Lezetxiki was located in a strategic place, at the entrance of the Iberian Peninsula.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: These cycles will become longer over time, but at the moment they are moving almost continuously, exploiting the resources of each area, and there is a fairly constant population movement throughout Europe. The Iberian Peninsula is populated by two main corridors, one of Catalonia and the other of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, where Leze-petit is located.

The more meters they explore the cave’s soil, the more ancient human populations are discovered by researchers.

At this depth, the sediment reports impossible events. It shows the fascination of coexistence between carnivorous animals and humans.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: What we have to think about in practice is that they don’t live together, they don’t alternate between one year and the next. But that we have millennia divided into centimeters, and that for two hundred years the bears have caves, lions, hyenas, and for another 80 years, for example, the infantry of men, fits very well in the long range of this.

Despite the discovery of rhinos, lions and many other animal remains, Lezetxiki is notable for taking the remains. The scientific name of the giant bear of the caves is Ursus espeleaus. The specific European species was three times larger in size than the brown bear: it could reach a height of three meters and a weight of half a ton.

The predecessor of the cave bear was Ursus deningeri.

ORIA VILLALUENGA; UPV/EHU: As in humans, there is a development. At the time of Heidelbergensis, Ursus deningeri lived and became the "cave bear", which disappeared 10,000 years ago.

The bears spent the winter hibernating in their nests against the cave walls, and it was not uncommon for them to die there. For this reason, fossilized bones are found by researchers in a very good state of conservation.

Skeletons of animals of the species Ursus deningeri and ursus spelaeus have been found in various parts of Europe.

In contrast to them, the remains of Lezetxiki have an important distinction, since it is in this cave that the intermediate form of both species has appeared.

ORIA VILLALUENGA; UPV/EHU: In almost all of Europe we have no record of how it evolved to be a bear in the Caves, and in Lezetxiki we have a complete skull and skeletons of 20 animals. Therefore, Lezetxiki will be an important place to find out how this evolution happened.

The mandible of one of the last monkeys to live in Europe was the last discovery made in Leze Chico. It is the newest monkey dated to the Iberian Peninsula, indicating, among other things, that the climate of the time was believed to be more
temperate. In the turn of years, centuries and millennia, humans and animals were changing and developing. All these changes took place in a changing world.

And the researchers look at the microfauna to see what all these changes were like.
Traces of them can also be found on the substrate, although finding them requires specific, detailed and refined work.

NAROA GARCIA IBAIBARRIAGA; UPV/EHU: Microwaves, although they are small elements, are important elements in research because they adapt very quickly to the environment. Therefore, they are a very representative element to provide information about the climate and its context.

All these changes were followed by the spread of another human species in Europe.

The Neanderthal man also arrived in Lezetxiki.

JESUS THE HIGH: The culture of the Mustier era, that is, the culture of the Neanderthals, is of great importance in Lezetxiki. The man from the Mustier period also appeared. Neanderthal teeth were also exposed. And he provided a lot of tools to study this Mustier period well...

The archaeological deposit contains the yews of the Neanderthals found in Lezetxiki. These yews have a characteristic that was very characteristic of those men and women who disappeared 30,000 years ago.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: The taurodontism." Because the roots of the teeth appear unified. Not as in our case, taurodontism rarely appears among Cro-Magnon.

The Heidelbergensis and the Neanderthals are in the same evolutionary line. The latter are descendants of the former. However, the main gap between human species occurred there.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: When it comes to material culture, there is a cut between Heidelbergensia and Neanderthal. Because the tools they make are very different from each other and it is possible to rediscover the lines of continuity between the tools that the Neanderthals and humans like us made.

MIKEL AGIRRE; UNED: In terms of technology, these species have evolved qualitatively and quantitatively, especially the Neanderthal species.

He systematically produced smaller beds to make the tools more differentiated.

Here I have decided for myself what form the lace would have. I've removed the parts around the stone. This technique is called centripetal carving. It is done from the outside to the center. The purpose was to give this nucleus a round shape, making it similar to a tortoise shell. When we have a prepared end, we lift a lacquer that occupies as much of the prepared surface as possible with one blow. This mixture contains centripetal negatives which are representative of this preparation. That is, the shape of this lacquer has been decided in advance. I was thinking about it before Laska came out.

Unlike Heidelbergensis, the Neanderthals chose the raw material to make the tools, look for the firestone and use it.

Half of the tools of the Muster era are made from this material, and the Neanderthal humans made long journeys to find this raw material.

Only precious stones such as diamond, topaz, etc. are harder than silex. It is ideal for tools because it is hard and breaks very easily. The Neanderthals knew this well.

In recent years, the image of the Neanderthal man has changed a lot. Among other things, the study of Neanderthal human DNA has revealed that they crossed with humans of the Homo sapiens species at certain times. They also learned the technique of the Cro-Magnon to work the stone.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: The Neanderthals do the management of the first issues, it is much closer to us, with the chromagnoons, than with the hedelbergensi. From then on they are equally technologically closer to us; the tools they make also begin to appear in the Upper Paleolithic, as well as the tools that were previously made by the Cro-Magnon. In general it can be said that the Neanderthals are closer to us than to the Heidelbergensi...

In any case, Lezetxiki has provided countless pieces for research and analysis.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: Lezetxiki has a 'Guinness' record in this, with a sedimentation of almost 10 meters. The oldest will be the axe. Heidelbergensis is probably very new chronologically, or one of the oldest among Neanderthals. And this appears at a depth of almost 9 meters. For comparison, they appear at 480-500 centrimeters. The teeth of the Neanderthals and this jaw bone of a member of our species, which dates back to the Bronze Age, appear almost on the surface, only 30 centimeters away.

Humans of our species also used the cave, so in the Bronze Age, about 4,000 years ago.

The research team led by Álvaro Arrizabalaga will soon complete the field work in Lezetxiki when it finds the rock beneath all the sediment.

ALVARO ARRIZABALAGA; UPV/EHU: When we finish our field work, we estimate that 40% of the site remains or remains, so that in future generations we can verify with other techniques the work done by us . Other technologies will appear, and they will take advantage of this to extract information that we cannot invent and dream of...

Ten meters of land. This is the depth of the Lezetxiki sediment, a sediment that has accumulated for hundreds of thousands of years, and it is expected that the last centimeters will soon be extracted. In any case, the site has not been exhausted.

The future will have a date with the past in Lezetxiki.