"Elvis" Pelvis

Original fossil. It is one of the most complete pelvis in the world. Its discovery has allowed us to have more data about our ancestors´ childbirth process. The pelvis was nicknamed Elvis because of the singer's famous hip movements.

This pelvis belonged to a male heidelbergensis. If you stand directly in front of it you can see it is very broad and robust, so much that despite belonging to a man he would have been able to give birth with it.

We know it belongs to an old man. The life expectancy of the species was about 35 or 40 years and the age of this individual is estimated to be more than 40 years. The latest research has found that this individual would have had problems because of the displacement of the lumbar vertebrae, which would have forced him to walk bent, perhaps with the help of a third support, such as a cane.

It is interesting to see how these nomadic communities maintained and cared for their sick individuals even though it would have slowed down the group. These gestures speak to a community with great social cohesion and a strong sense of group consciousness.

Species: Homo heidelbergensis
Age: 500.000 years
Location: Sima de los Huesos. Atapuerca Sites (Burgos), 1994.
Format: Original fossil