The Foundation is committed to disseminating the discoveries and research related to human evolution and the Atapuerca sites through various outreach programmes. It has also strived intensively to support all the work being carried out at these sites, playing a pivotal role in their recognition as World Heritage Sites in 2000.
EDUCATIONAL, EXHIBITION AND INFORMATIVE PROGRAMMES
Through these programmes, the Foundation pass on its scientific knowledge in an accessible way, while also seeking to inspire, generate interest and encourage critical thinking about the impact of the past on our current reality and the future of humanity. The Foundation participates in congresses, fairs and other events, thereby strengthening its commitment to disseminating knowledge and scientific collaboration.
TERRITORY
The sites in the sierra de Atapuerca are located within the municipal districts of Atapuerca and Ibeas de Juarros, as well as in a military zone. Since its beginnings, the Army, through the Cid Campeador Military Base, has been a mainstay of the Atapuerca project. Its logistical backing, particularly during the annual dig season, has been crucial to enabling research at the sites.
Meanwhile, all of the directors of the excavations have always fostered community engagement in the towns of Atapuerca and Ibeas de Juarros, collaborating with local inhabitants who showed interest in the project. This has led to the creation of associations by the local community, such as the Asociación de Amigos del Hombre de Ibeas y Atapuerca (ACAHIA) and the Asociación de Amigos de la sierra de Atapuerca. The aim is to raise the awareness of the local community about the significance of the work being done, a reflection of the Atapuerca Research Team's commitment to the area.
In recent years, several cultural and tourism initiatives have sprung up around the sites, such as the "International Atapuerca Cross Country Competition", the prehistoric tourism project entitled "Paleolítico Vivo", and various walks and initiatives for the general public.
PUBLICATIONS
In 2001, the very first issue of the journal dedicated to information about Atapuerca (Diario de los Yacimientos de la sierra de Atapuerca) was published, an initiative started by the members of the Atapuerca Research Team (EIA) and San Miguel. After running for ten years, this journal gave way to a new publication, published by the Atapuerca Foundation, which took on the name of Periódico de Atapuerca. First published in July 2011, it was designed to publicise the work of the Atapuerca Research Team and arose out of a collaboration with Mahou-San Miguel and the Diario de Burgos. The final issue was published in August 2023.
- Sierra de Atapuerca. Una mirada botánica.
- ATA Senderos. Fundación Caja de Burgos, Fundación 'la Caixa' and the Atapuerca Foundation published five notebooks in a collection dedicated to the sierra de Atapuerca.
- Sierra de Atapuerca: Cuevas, by archaeologist Ana Isabel Ortega Martínez, and speleologist Miguel Ángel Martín Merino.
- sierra de Atapuerca: Historia y leyendas, by Ana Isabel Ortega Martínez and Miguel Ángel Martín Merino.
- Sierra de Atapuerca: Pequeña flora, by Javier María García López, Eudald Carbonell i Roura and Miguel Ángel Pinto Cebrián.
- Sierra de Atapuerca: Mamíferos, reptiles y anfibios, by Miguel Ángel Pinto Cebrián.
- Sierra de Atapuerca: Aves, by Miguel Angel Pinto Cebrián.
- Origen, Cuadernos de Atapuerca, series edited by Diario de los Yacimientos de la sierra de Atapuerca in collaboration with the Atapuerca Foundation.
- Publications for the UISPP Congress. Born out of the collaboration between the University of Burgos and the Atapuerca Foundation:
- Los cazadores recolectores del Pleistoceno y del Holoceno en Iberia y el Estrecho de Gibraltar: estado actual del conocimiento del registro arqueológico
- Protohistoria de la Península Ibérica: del Neolítico a la romanización Toc Toc. El niño de Atapuerca
- La sierra de Atapuerca, un viaje a nuestros orígenes
- Comic: Explorador en la sierra de Atapuerca