The TD6 (Aurora stratum) hominid site. Final remarks and new questions

The study of the faunal and lithic assemblage (including almost a hundred h uman fossil remains) recovered from the Aurora stratum-TD6 level of the Low er Pleistocene cave site of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) has al lowed us to answer some important questions concerning the debate about the earliest evidence for human occupation of Europe. However, it has also sta rted new discussions about some geographical, ecological, and economic aspe cts of this earliest occupation. The nature (definitive or ephemeral) of th e first occupation, as well as the model for the arrival of the Acheulean ( Mode 2) in Europe are also issues for discussion. (C) 1999 Academic Press.