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[[File:Enelaboracion.jpg|right|thumb|none|300px|Image: Gran Dolina, archaeological site of Atapuerca (Burgos)]]
The oldest human fossil remains found on the Iberian Peninsula were discovered in sima del Elefante, (in the archaeological site of [https://www.atapuerca.org/es/ver/Video-del-Proyecto-Atapuerca Atapuerca], Burgos) in the form of a jawbone from an undetermined hominid dating from 1,200,000 years ago. If the fossil were of ''Homo habilis '' origin, it might have arrived on the Iberian Peninsula by way of the Strait of Gibraltar. Another hypothesis is that the fossil could belong to a new species called ''Homo antecessor'', which may have possibly evolved from individuals of ''Homo erectus '' and settled on the Iberian Peninsula (at Gran Dolina, TD6, Atapuerca) after having migrated from Asia around 800,000 years ago. However, it is important to note that fossilised human remains of, as yet, undetermined origin have also been unearthed at Venta Micena in Orce (Granada) and in cueva Victoria, in Cartagena (Murcia).
Two subsequent species emerged and lived together in the Iberian Peninsula: ''Homo neanderthalensis'', which marked the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic, and ''Homo heidelbergensis''. Neanderthal remains found in El Sidrón, in Piloña (Asturias) witness their presence and are of particular significance. It should be mentioned that prior to this finding, around 28 individuals (a relatively large number) were discovered in sima de los Huesos at Atapuerca, making up more than 85% of the world´s recorded fossils of the primitive ''neardenthaliensis '' species. These remains were initially thought to be ''Devisovan'', a species that predated ''neardenthaliensis''. Since the massive presence of individuals at Atapuerca does not appear to be a coincidence, but rather a burial site, it is believed that there existed some degree of religious practice. Neanderthals formed small nomadic tribes and harnessed the use of fire, perhaps without mastery. They lived out in the open air, sometimes at the mouths of caves, and when not scavenging, led a hunter-gatherer lifestyle; and appear to have even engaged in cannibalism.
The defining characteristic of these hominids placing them in the genus ''Homo '' is their ability to make tools. Initially, they made stone tools, typically of flint and quartzite, shaped and sharpened on only one surface (using stone tool technology). And later, tools were made by shaping both sides of the stone, forming bifacial preforms typical of Acheulean technology. The early tools, which were bulky and heavy and made in situ, were abandoned as soon as hunted animals were cut and skinned, whereas bifacial tools were typically kept for future use, as they were more versatile and difficult to produce.
[[File:Enelaboracion.jpg|left|thumb|none|300px|Map: Middle Paleolithic. Human and material remains. Spain.
<span style="color: #b20027; ">13973 [PDF]. [Datos]. </span>]]
The Middle Paleolithic, which began approximately 130,000 years BC, coincided with the widespread presence of ''Homo neanderthalensis''.
''Homo neanderthalensis '' had a cranium size of 1,450 cm3, slightly larger than modern man. Their bodies had a similar average stature of 1,70 cm, although stockier and perhaps with shorter limbs. Their presence coincided with the cold climate of the Würm glaciation, which precipitated the taking of refuge in caves. The most significant enclaves were found in cueva de las Grajas, in Archidona (Málaga), dating from roughly 200,000 years ago and cueva de Nerja, where the Neanderthals subsequently created the earliest known cave paintings about 40,000 years ago as well as at the sima de las Palomas de Cabezo Gordo (Murcia) site.
The two most prominent settlements established on the Iberian Peninsula were at the already mentioned cueva del Sidrón in Piloña (Asturias) and at Calvero de la Higuera in Pinilla del Valle (Madrid). At the former site, remnants were unearthed of about 13 individuals (the best collection in Spain) who lived 43,000 years ago. At the latter site, in addition to an extensive assemblage of fauna fossils, which even included unknown species such as the so-called “whistling hare”, Neanderthal remains were uncovered in what is believed to be the oldest known burial site. The remains were of a young girl with red hair, which appears to be consistent with most of her congeners. There is also clear evidence of burial sites in cueva Morín in Villaescusa (Cantabria).
Despite the controversy surrounding the coexistence and interbreeding of Neanderthals and ''Homo sapiens'', recent studies of cueva de la Güelga in Cangas de Onís (Asturias) reveal clear evidence of such activity from roughly 40,000 years ago. There is no debate about whether the Neanderthals engaged in cannibalism as remnants at both Sidrón archeological site and cueva del Boquete de Zafarralla (Málaga) indicate. With regard to interbreeding, an exhaustive study of DNA from the remains recovered at cueva del Sidrón, suggests that their blood was compatible with that of ''Homo sapiens''.
The Neanderthals manufactured tools using an innovative technology known as the Levallois technique. Since it came from the Mousterian tool culture, this period is referred to as the Mousterian era. At this time, Neanderthals were no longer just using stone cores, but were intentionally engineering them with retouches and grooves to obtain flakes of different shapes for scrapers, cleavers, denticulate saws and spear points, which they attached to a shaft to be used for specific tasks. This expertise in tool making was an adaptation to the necessities of survival. Neanderthals continued to lead a predatory way of life as hunter-gatherers, but the harsh climatic conditions of the glacial environment compelled them to craft better clothing and look for more effective ways to stockpile food. It is generally agreed that the Neanderthals’ two greatest achievements were mastery of the art of fire making and the use of spoken language, albeit a less complex form than that of modern humans.
[[File:Enelaboracion.jpg|left|thumb|none|300px|Map: Upper Paleolithic. Human and material remains. Spain.
<span style="color: #b20027; ">13974 [PDF]. [Datos]. </span>]]
The Upper Paleolithic, which coincided with the end of the Upper Pleistocene, saw the evolutionary rise of a new species called ''Homo sapiens '' starting in approximately 40,000 BC. The end of the Upper Pleistocene on the Iberian Peninsula took place around 12,000 to 10,000 BC, which was followed by a new epoch called the Neolithic, also known as the Holocene on the geological time scale.
''Homo sapiens '' are a species that originated in Africa. The earliest human fossils found on the Iberian Peninsula date from roughly 35,000 years ago and were unearthed from settlements sited along rivers. For some time, ''Homo sapiens '' coexisted with Neanderthals, eventually replacing them as their populations declined. The fact that this occurred despite the Neanderthal´s larger brain capacity has elicited explanations that are the subject of much speculation. It is known that ''Homo sapiens '' were able to survive the glacial periods that led many species on the European continent to extinction. A diverse diet consisting of game, collected fruit, small fish such as salmon and trout, and molluscs may have contributed to their survival.
''Homo sapiens '' are a modern and very refined hominid whose tools reveal a new stage in evolution. Referred to as microliths and multilayered tools, they were smaller in size and similar to knives. They also made use of new materials such as wood, bone, antler, ivory and shells. In addition to cave paintings, decorative objects such as necklaces also appeared.
The early ''sapiens '' were clearly creative beings. They made music: flutes were found at La Güelga in Cangas del Onís (Asturias) and El Castillo in Puente Viesgo (Cantabria), and built very advanced contraptions like grinders to pulverize vegetables and obtain grains. They created organised social hierarchies, as suggested by the use of power connoting accessories like staffs. And they were fond of art as shown by such unique sculptures as the Venus figurines. They engineered new tools such as harpoons and short spears, which indicate a gradual diversification of hunting and fishing methods and expanded the array of animals they hunted for food. Such tools may also have been developed in response to violent encounters among competing factions.
Though more organised and numerous than their ancestors at this point, they were still nomads, who periodically lived in caves. Vestiges of huts were found near the coasts and at the mouths of rivers where they dwelt. Burial sites bearing funerary objects were now ubiquitous, suggesting possession of the capacity to think symbolically and a belief in an afterlife. Corpses sprinkled with ochre powder have been found, and sometimes accompanied by traces of flower pollen, a combination which may have been a sign of family or emotional bonds. The existence of sea shells in excavation sites in the Manzanares river basin suggests they travelled long distances and traded objects.
<span style="color: #b20027; ">14802 [PDF]. [Datos]. </span>]]
There is much debate about whether to attribute the earliest development of artistic expression solely to ''Homo sapiens '' based on the fact that its emergence coincided with their existence, and there is also similar debate with respect to the Paleolithic. Since Neanderthals were also present at this time, they may have been responsible for some of these works, and previous works; possible examples include: El Castillo (a red disc and hand figures), Tito Bustillo (some remains), [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaG7dM-9tSA Altamira] (a claviform symbol), and cueva de Nerja with seal paintings (from possibly 42,000 years ago).
Nevertheless, the earliest substantiated evidence of ''sapiens '' artistic expression, known as the Franco-Cantabrian style, is from the great Nordpeninsular and Nordpyrenean complexes. Works were also found in other areas such as Pileta, Maltravieso and Siega Verde. Animal figures such as bison, horses and fallow deer, and rarely humans, were the protagonists of these paintings. The images, made with continuous lines and usually pigmented with ochre or black from iron oxide or manganese, were created in the backs of caves, perhaps to create a magical effect. They used the irregularities in the stone to give volume to and enhance the naturalism of the images. Very few portable art exist from this prehistoric time such pendants (made from stone, bone, shells, or teeth), weapons (such as harpoons and spears), or objects connoting power (canes from Caballón and Castillo), although the 6,000 engravings on the limestone caves of Cova del Parpalló make up the largest collection of art in Europe from this era.}}
{{ANEAutoria|Autores= María Sánchez Agustí, José Antonio Álvarez Castrillón, Mercedes de la Calle Carracedo, Daniel Galván Desvaux, Joaquín García Andrés, Isidoro González Gallego, Montserrat León Guerrero, Esther López Torres, Carlos Lozano Ruiz, Ignacio Martín Jiménez, Rosendo Martínez Rodríguez, Rafael de Miguel González}}
The Neolithic slowly unfolds}}
Scientists do not agree as to whether this was the beginning or the end of an epoch. As the Holocene began, the interglacial period that is believed to be taking place today was already under way. The ''sapiens '' were adapting quickly to a more temperate climate and vegetative landscape as well as to the availability of more desirable animals for hunting. Communities were becoming more specialised in exploiting a variety of available resources, leading to improvements in hunting, gathering, fishing and shellfishing. Some historians believe that the Paleolithic Period was coming to a close and refer to this time period as the Epi-Paleolithic. However, other historians consider this to be the beginning of a new era starting roughly 12,000 BC, describing it as the Mesolithic Period, or Middle Stone Age, which was then proceeded imperceptibly by the Neolithic.
[[File:Enelaboracion.jpg|left|thumb|none|300px|Map: The Neolithic. Spain.
The arrival of the Neolithic, a time period measured in milennia, signalled the transition from a hunter-gatherer to a progressively agrarian and ranching lifestyle with permanent dwellings. This monumental, evolutionary change began with formation of the largest rivers in Asia and the Nile in Africa caused by climate change during the Holocene. This extensive period marked such a significant transformation in human history that in order to characterise it appropriately, it is referred to as the "Neolithic Revolution". With this change, came a sedentary lifestyle, architecture, social hierarchies, religions, and technological innovations.
According to diffusion theories, these lifestyle changes were brought to the Iberian Peninsula from the Eastern Mediterranean. However, to adherents of autochthonous theories, the changes occurred naturally in response to the evolution of the Mesolithic on the Iberian Peninsula. One theory asserts that there were four regions along the Peninsula: Northeast Area, Levantine Area, Southern Area and South Atlantic Area, as can be seen on ''[[:File:Enelaboracion.jpg|The Neolithic ]]'' map. Another theory suggests it had logically spread throughout the entire Iberian Peninsula. History tells us that even when a theory becomes difficult to dispute, other theories cannot be ruled out.
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In the Second Millennium BC, population growth created a greater demand for raw materials and subsistence products, causing agricultural and livestock farming (and its by-products) to become more widespread. This still Neolithic society had already mastered metallurgical techniques and had discovered bronze, a strong alloy of copper and tin. Bronze arrived on the Peninsula through the Pyrenees in the Third Millennium BC and was used along with copper to make tools and objects, according to stratigraphic studies of the Bauma del Serrat del Pont site (Girona).
Trade increased during the Early Bronze Age and there are strong indications that society was becoming increasingly socially stratified. This was evidenced by the discovery of burial sites for single individuals (mainly in burial pits and megalithic cists) as well as by differences in the quality and quantity of funerary objects placed in these sites. The Argar culture, which succeeded the bell-shaped ceramic, and produced a wide range of ceramic objects, was no longer the only flourishing culture on the Peninsula, according to research carried out in the last 50 years. ''[[:File:Enelaboracion.jpg|The Bronze Age ]]'' map shows the emergence of a diversity of cultures chronologically beginning with the Protocogota settlements on the Nothern Plateau around 2000 BC.
The late Bronze Age began around the 11th century BC with three different cultural currents predominating: Central European, Atlantic, and Eastern Mediterranean. With an increase in cultural exchanges, these civilisations mixed with native cultures, eventually evolving into what are known as Pre-Roman cultures. Major changes took place and new traditions arose. In the Northwest, they began to cremate their dead and leave their ashes in urnfields, while in the middle of the Peninsula and in the northern and western regions, highly sophisticated bronze weapons and objects were commercially traded. And lastly, merchants and new cultural groups arose in the Mediterranean and southern regions of the Peninsula, foreshadowing the future colonisation of these areas. Meanwhile, advances in metallurgy led to the development of goldsmithing, as evidenced by the Treasure of Villena (Alicante). Livestock routes stretching inland were also built, as revealed at some excavation sites such as Peña Negra in Crevillent (Alicante). These external influences did not, however, impede indigenous development. Examples of this can be seen from the Cogotas culture, which extended to the Douro and Tagus river basins starting in the 11th century BC, as well as from the Talayotic culture on the Balearic Islands at the end of the Naviform period.
