Miguelón is the popular nickname for a human skull of the

Sima de los Huesos hominins The Sima de los Huesos hominins are a 430,000 year old population of "pre-Neanderthals" from the archeological site of Atapuerca, Spain. They are in the "Neanderthal clade", but fall outside of ''Homo neanderthalensis''. When first published in ...

, classified as belonging to the "

Neanderthal Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...

clade". One of the best preserved skulls in the human fossil record, it has been estimated to date to 430,000 years ago. It is one of more than 5,500 fossils belonging to early human populations which have been found in the Sima de los Huesos ("pit of bones") site in the Sierra de Atapuerca in northern Spain. The excavators suggest that this concentration of bones in the pit may represent the practice of

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

by the inhabitants of the cave. A competing theory cites the lack of small bones in the assemblage and suggests that the remains were washed into the pit by natural agents. Evidence in the form of

genetic analysis Genetic analysis is the overall process of studying and researching in fields of science that involve genetics and molecular biology. There are a number of applications that are developed from this research, and these are also considered parts ...

suggests that the Sima de los Huesos hominins were ancestral to later Neanderthals. Subsequently, there is debate about whether to include them within ''

Homo heidelbergensis ''Homo heidelbergensis'' is a species of archaic human from the Middle Pleistocene of Europe and Africa, as well as potentially Asia depending on the taxonomic convention used. The species-level classification of ''Homo'' during the Middle Pleis ...

'' or whether they represent early members of ''

Homo neanderthalensis Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. Neanderthal extinctio ...

''. Miguelón, around thirty years old, had suffered 13 impacts in the head and died of

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

resulting from broken teeth. The frontal squama has a spherical depression on the left side indicative of a blow to the head by a club or rounded flint implement wielded by a right-handed individual. In his upper left jaw there is an important bone alteration, with evidence of alveolar infection. According to Arsuaga, a tooth had been broken in life by a strong blow, so that the flesh had been exposed and led to an infectious process that continued until nearly the

orbital bone In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket/hole of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is ...

. The cranial capacity is around 1100cc. The nickname ''Miguelón'' was derived from

Miguel Indurain --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disam ...

, a retired Spanish

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most comm ...

that won the

Tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

and Giro in 1992, the year in which this skull was discovered.

References

External links

Human Fossils - The pit of bones
(in Spanish) {{Homo heidelbergensis, state=collapsed Homo heidelbergensis fossils Neanderthal fossils Anthropology Burials in the Province of Burgos Prehistoric burials in Spain

See also

References

External links