The seed of 'La Evolución': The development of human palaeontology in Spain in recent decades

Abstract

Human palaeontology in Spain has experienced extraordinary growth in recent decades. In this work we investigate the influence that the book La evolucion (1966) and its editors, Miquel Crusafont, Bermudo Melendez, and Emiliano Aguirre, exerted on this explosion. Two areas have developed significantly: the study of the Miocene hominoids, originally linked to Crusafont and the Valles-Penedes basin sites (Barcelona), and the study of the first human occupations in Europe, closely related to Aguirre and the Atapuerca excavations (Burgos). Different factors have contributed to this progress, but the research inertia of La evolucion and its conceptual foundations have been key to the development of the discipline.