Cave bear Ursus spelaeus 14,000 years old photo D. Finnin/AMNH

The early human residents of Atapuerca shared the landscape with cave bears similar to this one. Despite their name, cave bears did not live exclusively in caves. Like modern bears, they typically only slept or hibernated underground. Females also gave birth inside caves.

Although ferocious in appearance, cave bears were probably not exclusively carnivorous. Analysis of their teeth suggests that they only ate meat occasionally and relied heavily on plants for food. Paintings of cave bears by modern humans (Homo sapiens) have been found in Europe dating back to around 30,000 years ago. Cave bears went extinct at or before the end of the Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago.

Cave bears like this one date back to the Middle Pleistocene and roamed through most of Europe. Unlike the fragmented remains of bears from Sima, this cave bear from Mokrau, Czech Republic, is exceptionally well-preserved. It is rare to find such complete specimens, especially from this era.