top of page

INFORMATION / HISTORY

Atapuerca has played a very important role in the protohistory of man since the remains of Homo Ancestor, the oldest man in Europe, were located in this place.

.

The Atapuerca council was set up eleven centuries ago around a specific land and in accordance with common rules of life, referring to religion, homeland, justice, language, economy, etc. Atapuerca is the result of the effort to recover Spain lost at the hands of the Arabs in the year 711. At the end of the 9th century, the Castilians appeared in Alto Arlanzón. In the year 884 the city of Burgos was populated and in 899 there were already monks in Cardeña.

The life of Atapuerca begins to be documented on July 5, 963, in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña. On this date, Doña Fronilde makes an important donation to the abbot and monks of Cardeña and points out the geographical limits of the population: from Villafría it follows a line that rises up the river Vena and from there “over the top of the Sierra de Atapuerca it continues to the church of San Vicente that is on the Cave and follows directly the path that arrives at Arlanzón ”.

The spelling used by the scribe in the year 963 is “adtaporka”. Atapuerca is this year a town that belongs to the Alfoz de Arlanzón and the Merindad de Montes Oca-Rioja.

September 1, 1054 is an outstanding date in the history of Atapuerca since the famous battle of Atapuerca takes place that faced the kingdoms of Castile and Navarre due to the lack of agreement on the change of borders produced after the death of Sancho III, the Major. In this contest two brothers faced each other, King García of Navarra and Fernando de León y Castilla. Peace was not possible despite the intervention of four holy abbots: Íñigo, from Oña; Sisebuto, from Cardeña; García, from Arlanza and Domingo, from Silos. In the battle (represented every year by the inhabitants of the town) King García of Navarra died and the kingdom of Castile continued with the recovery of old territories.

On 18, 1068, King Sancho II, determined to restore Oca's headquarters in Burgos, determined to form a mass of important goods to provide the future headquarters. And among those assets are the two churches with all their belongings that are in Atapuerca. This document is signed by such distinguished figures as the Cid Campeador and his father Diego Rodríguez.

Another fact that influences the history of Atapuerca is the Camino de Santiago. The pilgrims came from Agés, they crossed the town, greeted the saints of the church and hermitage and received some help in the little hospital of San Juan. Then they faced the serrezuela and in the plain that followed the descent they joined those who had walked through Ibeas.

In the 12th century, on October 18, 1158, the Emperor Alfonso VII, during the festival that he celebrates in honor of San Lucas in Villafranca Montes de Oca, dictates a solemn letter of donation and jurisdiction that changes the regime of the town. In this document, Alfonso VII confirms the donation already made by his mother, Queen Urraca, from the town of Atapuerca to the Military Order of the Hospital of San Juan de Jerusalem, today the Order of Malta. The emperor donates the town with all its belongings to Fray Pelayo Ruiz and his Order. Atapuerca thus passes from the royal domain to the ecclesiastical one.

But in that letter, Alfonso VII adds some regional clauses that guarantee the rights of the residents of Atapuerca and that regulate the relations of the Council and the Military Order. The town will enjoy total exemption from funding, assembly and portazgo. The so-called trickery is reduced to an almost symbolic payment. The document establishes that the property owners had to do four days of serna in favor of the Order and the judge who regulated and administered it had to be appointed by the same order. In any case, the neighbors were free to leave or live in Atapuerca or Quintana de Atapuerca or sell their farms and go to other places. In the jurisdiction it was also said that Atapuerca belonged to the Alfoz de Lara.

The sovereign Order instituted an encomienda governed by a knight-monk commander. It is known that in the year 1191 this position was held by Fray Martín Pinto.

.

It has not been possible to specify the time that Atapuerca was in possession of the Military Order of San Juan. The absence of Atapuerca in the list of loans from the bishopric of Burgos (around 1250) and also from the "Famous Book of Behetrerías" (1350) suggests that he lived under the relative regime of the Order until the 16th century.

In 1591, Atapuerca appears in the census forming a merindad with 18 other towns, called Montes de Oca and adding 592 neighbors, about 3,000 inhabitants. In the eighteenth century, the town was listed in the royal family.

In 1843 Atapuerca has 203 inhabitants and the village is presided over by the church of San Martín. In addition, the town has a primary school, whose teacher receives 200 reales and 24 bushels of bread.

In 1950 its inhabitants amounted to 260. Quintana de Atapuerca, today absorbed by the town, was located one kilometer to the northwest in the payment that today they continue to call La Quintana.

bottom of page