Skeleton of a bison from 4 thousand years ago found in Navarra, Spain

Pamplona. The president of Navarra, María Chivite, and the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Rebeca Esnaola, yesterday presented the remains of an almost complete skeleton of a bison from 4 thousand years ago discovered in the Sima Arrafela, within the Urbasa and Andía Natural Park.

The discovery occurred within the framework of an intervention promoted by the General Directorate of Culture-Prince de Viana Institution in which scientists from the University of the Basque Country-EHU, the Museum of Natural History of Madrid, among other Spanish and international institutions, participated.

It is an almost complete specimen of bison, dated by radiocarbon and with a copper arrowhead lodged between the ribs, which places the context of the discovery at the end of the Chalcolithic (about 4 thousand years ago).

It is possibly a European bison, a fact pending confirmation by DNA analysis. In any case, it is a “unique find in the Iberian Peninsula”, since, if it is confirmed that they are remains of a European bison, it would be the first evidence of this type of bison in this region.

The other alternative would be that it belonged to the so-called Clade X, which is known from genetic studies. However, the anatomy of the bison of this clade is not known, and if it were confirmed that it belongs to this type, a complete skeleton belonging to that species would be available, for the first time.

Members of the team who participated in the intervention have described this discovery as “exceptional”, as well as “extraordinary and unthinkable”. Taking as a reference the wisdom teeth, which “have already come in,” they have calculated that the bison could be approximately 4 years old. Its weight could have been about 800 to 850 kilos.

The investigation began in 2024, after scholars confirmed that the remains were not common bovids. From that moment on, work began on the remains, whose recovery took place in October 2025.

In this intervention and in the same chasm, remains of a cave lion have been found (Panthera spelaea), species extinct approximately 12 thousand years ago, the third documented in Navarra (after the Abauntz and Koskobilo sites), and the one that has provided the most remains. In addition, remains of a black grouse and another bird of prey have been found, which expand the knowledge of the fauna of prehistoric Navarra.

In his speech, Chivite indicated that in recent years “archaeology is giving us very good surprises”, in reference to the Loizu Man or the Hand of Irulegi. As he added, “what is really important is what they teach us about ourselves.” The “spectacular” discovery of this “well-sized bison skeleton, incredibly well preserved,” he noted, “represents a novelty in the information that until now we had about the fauna that lived in the Iberian Peninsula 4 thousand years ago. By giving a voice to science we silence false stories, which tell us about a simplified or directly invented past,” he concluded.