Orce

Orce, Spain
Flag Seal
Location of Orce
Country	Spain
Province	Granada
Municipality	Orce
Area
- Total	324 km2 (125.1 sq mi)
Elevation	928 m (3,045 ft)
Population (2009)
- Total	1,333
- Density	4.1/km2 (10.6/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Orce is a municipality located in the province of Granada, in southeastern Spain. According to the 2009 census (INE), the city has a population of 1333 inhabitants.

Significance in Paleoanthropology

Orce is the location of the paleo-archaeological sites known as Barranco Leon, Venta Micena, and Fuentenueva 3, near the basin of an ancient lake where fossils have been preserved in sediment. Josep Gilbert of the M. Crusafont Institute in Barcelona has led an excavation team there. He asserts that the sites have Oldowan-style stone tools dating between 1.5 and 1.8 million years ago. If the early estimates are supported, these would represent the oldest stone tool finds in Europe. ^[1] Other scholars prefer a more conservative date for the stone tools of 1.2 million years.^[2] Together with the hominid remains at the Atapuerca Mountains, the tools are evidence that human ancestors settled in western Europe much earlier than scholars had thought, perhaps by 400,000 years or more.

External links

• Official site of the Village of Orce (Spanish)

References

1. ^ Bower, Bruce. "Ancient Roads to Europe: African ancestors may have entered Europe surprisingly early", Science News, v. 151 no. 1. January 4, 1997. pp. 12-13, accessed 15 Nov 2010
2. ^ Balter, Michael. "In Search of the First Europeans", in Science, New Series. Vol. 291 No. 5509. March 2, 2001, pp. 1722-1725

Coordinates: 37°43′N 2°28′W / 37.717°N 2.467°W / 37.717; -2.467