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Rodríguez Hidalgo, Antonio

Affiliated Researcher

E-mail: arodriguez@iphes.cat

I was born in Mérida, Spain, the ancient capital of the Roman province of Lusitania. Growing up surrounded by such extraordinary historical and archaeological heritage shaped my childhood in unexpected ways. When I was eight, I read a wonderful book called Adam und Eva. Ursprung und Entwicklung des Menschen. Der Weg zum Homo sapiens (Adam and Eve. The origin and development of humankind. The path to Homo sapiens). It explained human evolution through striking images of hominin fossils, evocative African landscapes, and daring explorers. That book captivated me forever, and from that moment on, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to studying human evolution.

Forty years later, I am a Paleolithic archaeologist with research interests in taphonomy, zooarchaeology, forensic anthropology, and cannibalism. My work focuses on human behaviour in the past, especially the evolution of subsistence strategies, tactics, and techniques. I also explore human–animal interactions and the processes involved in the formation of faunal assemblages.

I primarily work at the Sierra de Atapuerca sites (Spain), but I also conduct research in eastern Morocco (Ain Bni Mathar–Guefait Basin), in the Cradle of Humanity (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania), and in several fascinating Iberian sites such as Maltravieso Cave, Santa Ana Cave, Abric Romaní, Cova Foradada, and La Malia rock shelter.

I earned my Ph.D. from Rovira i Virgili University (Tarragona, Spain) and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (Paris), focusing on faunal remains from Gran Dolina (Atapuerca). I gained valuable experience during short research stays at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. My dissertation received two awards, one from my home university and another from the University of Tübingen (Germany). I later worked as a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellow at the Complutense University of Madrid (2017–2021) in the Department of Prehistory founded by Hugo Obermaier in 1922, and as a María de Maeztu postdoctoral researcher at IPHES (2021–2023). After that, I joined the University of Seville as a postdoctoral researcher. I am now a Ramón y Cajal researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of Mérida (CSIC–Junta de Extremadura).

As an archaeologist, I have worked across a wide range of periods—from 2-million-year-old contexts (Dmanisi, FLK North, AGS) to the mass graves of the Spanish Civil War. I have collaborated with archaeological consultancy firms on major infrastructure projects and also served as a consultant for the Spanish Government. Yet my true passion remains the study of human evolution and sharing scientific knowledge with the public.

I currently serve as Associate Editor of the Journal of Human Evolution and Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Mytra: Trabajos y Memorias de Arqueología.

You can follow my updates on X (AKA Twitter) @WhiteRabbit36


Papers:

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; et al. Taphonomic criteria for identifying Iberian lynx dens in quaternary deposits. Nature: Sci. Reports 10, 7225 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63908-6

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; et al. 2019. The Châtelperronian Neandertals of Cova Foradada (Calafell, Spain) used imperial eagle phalanges for symbolic purposes. Science Advances. Vol. 5, no. 11, eaax1984 DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aax1984

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; et al. 2017. Human predatory behavior and the social implications of communal hunting based on evidence from the TD10.2 bison bone bed at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca, Spain). Journal of Human Evolution. Academic Press Inc. 105, pp.89-122.

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; et al. 2016. Subsistence dynamics during the Lower Paleolithic in Gran Dolina cave (Atapuerca, Spain). Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte (MGFU). 25, pp.11-47.

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; et 2016. Bird-bone modifications by Iberian lynx: A taphonomic analysis of non-ingested red-legged partridge remains. Quaternary International. Elsevier. 241-9, pp.228-238.

  • Saladié, P. & Rodríguez Hidalgo, A. 2016. Archaeological Evidence for Cannibalism in Prehistoric Western Europe: from Homo antecessor to the Bronze Age. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. Springer. 10.1007/s10816-016-9, pp.1-38. ISSN 1072-5369.

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; et al. 2016. Season of bison mortality in TD10.2 bone bed at Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca): Integrating tooth eruption, wear, and microwear methods. Journal of Archaeological Science: Report. Elsevier. 6, pp.780-789.

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; et al. 2015. Hominin subsistence and site function of TD10.1 bone bed level at Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca) during the late Acheulean. Journal of Quaternary Science. John Wiley & Sons. 30-7, pp.679-701. ISSN 1099-1417.

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; et al. 2015. Expansion of the referential framework for the rabbit fossil accumulations generated by Iberian lynx. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, and Palaeoecology. Elsevier. 418, pp.1-11. ISSN 0031-0182.

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; et al. 2013. Feeding behaviour and taphonomic characterization of non-ingested rabbit remains produced by the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). Journal of Archaeological Science. Elsevier. 4-7, pp.3031-3045. ISSN 0305-4403.

  • Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Saladié, P.; Canals, A. 2013. Following the white rabbit: A case of a small game procurement site in the upper Palaeolithic (Sala de las Chimeneas, Maltravieso Cave, Spain). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. Wiley. 23-1, pp.34-54. ISSN 1099-1212.

  • Domínguez-Rodrigo, M., Baquedano, E., Organista, E., Cobo-Sánchez, L., Mabulla, A., Maskara, V., Gidna, A., Pizarro-Monzo, M., Aramendi, J., Belén Galán, A., Cifuentes-Alcobendas, G., Vegara-Riquelme, M.,Jiménez-García, B., Abellán, N., Barba, R., Uribelarrea, D., Martín-Perea, D., Diez-Martin, F., Maíllo-Fernández, M., Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A., Courtenay, Ll., Mora, R., Maté-González, M.A.,Gonzalez-Aguilera, D. (2021). Early Pleistocene faunivorous hominins were not kleptoparasitic: relevance for the evolution of human anatomy and socio-ecology. Scientific Reports 11.

  • Madurell-Malapeira, J.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Aouraghe, H.; Haddoumi, H.; Van Der Made, J.; Bartolini-Lucenti, S.; Oujaa, A.; Saladié, P.; Bengamra, S.; Marín, J.; Souhir, M.; Farkouch, M.; Mhamdi, Hicham; Aissa, Al-M.; Werdelin, L.; Chacón, M. G. y Sala-Ramos, R., (2021). First small-sized Dinofelis, evidence from the Plio-Pleistocene of North Africa, Quaternary Science Reviews, 265. 1 August 2021, 107028.

  • Alba, David M.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Aouraghe, Hassan; Van Der Made, Jan; Oujaa, Aïcha; Haddoumi, Hamid; Saladié, Palmira; Aissa, Al Mahdi; Marín, Juan; Farkouch, Mourad; Lorenzo, Carlos; Bengamra, Said; Delson, Eric; Chacón, María Gema y Sala-Ramos, Robert, (2021). New macaque remains from Morocco, Journal of Human Evolution, 153, April 2021, 102951.

  • Saladié, P., Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A., Domínguez-Rodrigo, M., Vallverdú, P., Mosquera, M., Ollé, A., Huguet, R., Cáceres, I., Arsuaga, J.L., Bermúdez de Castro, J.M., Carbonell, E., (2021). Dragged, lagged, or undisturbed: reassessing the autochthony of the hominin-bearing assemblages at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca,Spain). Archaeological and Anthropological Science, 13, 65 (2021).

  • Sala, N.; Pablos, A.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Arriolabengoa, M.; Alcaraz-Castaño, M.; Cubas, M.; Posth, C.; Krause, J.; Nägele, K.; Pantoja-Pérez, A.; Arlegi, M.; Rodríguez-Almagro, M.; Conde-Valverde, M.; Arribas, A.; Cuenca-Bescós, G.; Gómez-Olivencia, A., (2021). Cueva de los Torrejones revisited. New research in a classic site from inland Iberia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 253, 1 February 2021, 106765.

  • Marín, J.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Saladié, P.; Boulbes, N.; Magniez, P.; Testu, A. y Moigne, A.-M., (2020). Taphonomic analysis of horse remains from Mousterian and Aurignacian Units from Bize-Tournal cave (Aude, France), Comptes Rendus - Palevol 19, 189-2015.

  • Marín, J.; Daujeard, C.; Saladié, P.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Vettese, D.; Rivals, F.; Boulbes, N.; Crégut-Bonnoure, E.; Lateur, N.; Gallotti, R.; Arbez, L.; Puaud, S. y Moncel, M. H., (2020). Corrigendum to “Neanderthal faunal exploitation and settlement dynamics at the Abri du Maras, level 5 (South-eastern France)”(Quaternary Science Reviews (2020) 243, (S0277379120304340), (10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106472)), Quaternary Science Reviews 248.

  • Marín, J.; Daujeard, C.; Saladié, P.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Vettese, D.; Rivals, F.; Boulbes, N.; Crégut-Bonnoure, E.; Lateur, N.; Gallotti, R.; Arbez, L.; Puaud, S. y Moncel, M. H., (2020). Neanderthal faunal exploitation and settlement dynamics at the Abri du Maras, level 5 (south-eastern France), Quaternary Science Reviews, 243, 1 September 2020, 106472.

  • Marginedas, F.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Soto, M.; Bello, S. M.; Cáceres, I.; Huguet, R. y Saladié, P., (2020). Making skull cups: Butchering traces on cannibalised human skulls from five European archaeological sites, Journal of Archaeological Science 114.

  • Gómez-Olivencia, A.; Arlegi, M.; Arceredillo, D.; Delson, E.; Sanchis, A.; Núñez-Lahuerta, C.; Fernández-García, M.; De Alvarado, M. V.; Galán, J.; Pablos, A.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; López-Horgue, M. A.; Rodríguez-Almagro, M.; Martínez-Pillado, V.; Rios-Garaizar, J. y Van Der Made, J., (2020). The Koskobilo (Olazti, Navarre, Northern Iberian Peninsula) paleontological collection: New insights for the Middle and Late Pleistocene in Western Pyrenees, Quaternary International, 566–567, 20 November 2020, Pages 113-140.

  • García-Sagastibelza, A.; Arribas, J. L.; López-Onaindia, D.; Pomeroy, E.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Castex, D.; Couture-Veschambre, C. y Gómez-Olivencia, A., (2020). The human remains from the Lumentxa cave (Lekeitio, Biscay, Northern Iberian Peninsula): Paleobiology, Taphonomy and Chronology, Quaternary International, 566–567, 20 November 2020, Pages 191-210

  • De Lombera-Hermida, A.; Rodríguez-Álvarez, X. P.; Mosquera, M.; Ollé, A.; García-Medrano, P.; Pedergnana, A.; Terradillos-Bernal, M.; López-Ortega, E.; Bargalló, A.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Saladié, P.; Bermúdez De Castro, J. M. y Carbonell, E., (2020). The dawn of the Middle Paleolithic in Atapuerca: the lithic assemblage of TD10.1 from Gran Dolina, Journal of Human Evolution 145.