Torralba and Ambrona are two paleontological sites located two kilometers apart on the Ambrona River in the Soria region of Spain, 150 kilometers northeast of Madrid. The sites are at ~1100 meters above sea level on either side of the Masegar river valley.
Between 330,000 and 270,000 years ago, Homo erectus worked stone and perhaps butchered animals here on the shores of a lake.
The sites include lots of elephant bone, and tools associated with the Acheulean tradition; there lingers some debate as to whether the bone shows clear evidence of butchering. Excavators at the site include the Marques de Cerralbo in the early 20th century, and F. Clark Howell.
Recent ESR/U-series dates for Ambrona support the Middle Pleistocene date, with a maximum age of between 300,000-350,000 years ago, or similar in age to Orgnac 3.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to the Lower Paleolithic, the Guide to European Prehistory, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Falguères C, Bahain J-J, Pérez-González A, Mercier N, Santonja M, and Dolo J-M. 2006. The Lower Acheulian site of Ambrona, Soria (Spain): ages derived from a combined ESR/U-series model. Journal of Archaeological Science 33:149-157.
Villa P, and d’Errico F. 2001. Bone and ivory points in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic of Europe. Journal of Human Evolution 41:69–112.
