Excavations at Cueva Mayor fossil site. Palaeontologists excavating in the Galeria de las Estatuas section of the Cueva Mayor cave system in the Sierra de Atapuerca foothills in northern Spain. The Cueva Mayor site was first discovered in 1910 and is believed to contain evidence of the final phase of human evolution, between 127,000 and 11,000 years ago. In April 2021 it was announced that for the first time hominin nuclear DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) had been recovered from sediments at this site and two sites in Siberia. The DNA belonged to Neanderthals and dated to between 200,000 and 50,000 years ago. This finding opens up the possibility of being able to study prehistoric populations without the need for fossils.