World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Earth Science
Spain
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Earth Science

D-Index
84
Citations
24346
World Ranking
402
National Ranking
2

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Earth Science in Spain Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Earth Science in Spain Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Earth Science in Spain Leader Award
  • 2002 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences

Overview

Juan Luis Arsuaga is affiliated with the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain. Their research focuses on several intersecting scientific disciplines, including social sciences, arts and humanities, and earth and planetary sciences. Their subfields of expertise cover anthropology, archeology, paleontology, genetics, and ecology.

The scientist's work explores key topics related to Pleistocene-era hominins and archaeology, forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology, archaeology and ancient environmental studies, evolution and paleontology, archaeological and geological studies, wildlife ecology and conservation, as well as geology and paleoclimatology research.

Juan Luis Arsuaga has published extensively, with notable recent papers including:

  • The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes (2021, Nature)
  • Unearthing Neanderthal population history using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from cave sediments (2021, Science)
  • The dental proteome of Homo antecessor (2020, Nature)
  • Earliest known human burial in Africa (2021, Nature)
  • A Middle Pleistocene Homo from Nesher Ramla, Israel (2021, Science)

Their frequent collaborators include José María Bermúdez de Castro, José Miguel Carretero, María Martinón-Torres, Enrique Baquedano, and Rebeca García-González.

Juan Luis Arsuaga has contributed to multiple publication venues, with a high number of works appearing in:

  • The Anatomical Record
  • Quaternary Science Reviews
  • Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
  • Journal of Archaeological Science Reports
  • Nature

The scientist's research spans over numerous interdisciplinary fields, functioning at the intersection of anthropology, archeology, and paleontology while integrating genetic, ecological, and environmental perspectives. Their body of work addresses complex questions about human evolution, ancient populations, and environmental interactions over geological timescales.

Juan Luis Arsuaga is recognized as a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 2002, a distinction reflecting their involvement in the scientific community.

Best Publications

  • Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of a Middle Pleistocene cave bear reconstructed from ultrashort DNA fragments

    Jesse Dabney;Michael Knapp;Michael Knapp;Isabelle Glocke;Marie-Theres Gansauge

  • A Hominid from the Lower Pleistocene of Atapuerca, Spain: Possible Ancestor to Neandertals and Modern Humans

    J. M. Bermúdez de Castro;J. L. Arsuaga;J. L. Arsuaga;E. Carbonell;E. Carbonell;A. Rosas;A. Rosas

  • Lower Pleistocene hominids and artifacts from Atapuerca-TD6 (Spain)

    E Carbonell;JM Bermudez de Castro;JL Arsuaga;JC Diez

  • The first hominin of Europe

    Eudald Carbonell;Jose M. Bermudez de Castro;Josep M. Pares;Alfredo Perez-Gonzalez

  • A mitochondrial genome sequence of a hominin from Sima de los Huesos

    Matthias Meyer;Qiaomei Fu;Qiaomei Fu;Ayinuer Aximu-Petri;Isabelle Glocke

  • Nuclear DNA sequences from the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos hominins

    Matthias Meyer;Juan-Luis Arsuaga;Juan-Luis Arsuaga;Cesare de Filippo;Sarah Nagel

  • Neandertal roots: Cranial and chronological evidence from Sima de los Huesos.

    J. L. Arsuaga;I. Martínez;L. J. Arnold;A. Aranburu

  • The earliest modern humans outside Africa

    Israel Hershkovitz;Israel Hershkovitz;Gerhard W. Weber;Rolf Quam;Rolf Quam;Mathieu Duval

  • The Sima de los Huesos crania (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). A comparative study.

    J.L. Arsuaga;J.L. Arsuaga;I. Martı́nez;I. Martı́nez;A. Gracia;A. Gracia;C. Lorenzo;C. Lorenzo

  • Earliest humans in Europe: the age of TD6 Gran Dolina, Atapuerca, Spain.

    Christophe Falguères;Jean-Jacques Bahain;Yuji Yokoyama;Juan Luis Arsuaga

  • The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes.

    Pablo Librado;Naveed Khan;Naveed Khan;Antoine Fages;Mariya A. Kusliy

  • Three new human skulls from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site in Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain

    Juan-Luis Arsuaga;Ignacio Martínez;Ana Gracia;José-Miguel Carretero

  • Luminescence chronology of cave sediments at the Atapuerca paleoanthropological site, Spain.

    G.W. Berger;A. Pérez-González;E. Carbonell;J.L. Arsuaga

  • Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day Basques

    Torsten Günther;Cristina Valdiosera;Cristina Valdiosera;Cristina Valdiosera;Helena Malmström;Irene Ureña;Irene Ureña

  • Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). The site

    J L Arsuaga;I Martínez;Ana Gracia;J M Carretero;J M Carretero

  • Morphological description and comparison of the dental remains from Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos site (Spain)

    María Martinón-Torres;José María Bermúdez de Castro;Aida Gómez-Robles;Leyre Prado-Simón

  • High-resolution U-series dates from the Sima de los Huesos hominids yields 600−66+∞kyrs: implications for the evolution of the early Neanderthal lineage

    James L. Bischoff;Ross W. Williams;Robert J. Rosenbauer;Arantza Aramburu

  • Auditory capacities in Middle Pleistocene humans from the Sierra de Atapuerca in Spain

    I. Martínez;M. Rosa;J.-L. Arsuaga;P. Jarabo

  • Dental evidence on the hominin dispersals during the Pleistocene

    María Martinón-Torres;J. M. Bermúdez De Castro;Aida Gómez-Robles;J. L. Arsuaga

  • A complete human pelvis from the Middle Pleistocene of Spain

    Juan Luis Arsuaga;Carlos Lorenzo;José Miguel Carretero;Ana Gracia

Frequent Co-Authors

José María Bermúdez de Castro
José María Bermúdez de Castro University College London
Ignacio Martínez
Ignacio Martínez University of Alcalá
Eudald Carbonell
Eudald Carbonell Rovira i Virgili University
José Miguel Carretero
José Miguel Carretero University of Burgos
María Martinón-Torres
María Martinón-Torres University College London
Alfredo Pérez-González
Alfredo Pérez-González Complutense University of Madrid
J.M. Bermúdez de Castro
J.M. Bermúdez de Castro Spanish National Research Council
Enrique Baquedano
Enrique Baquedano University of Alcalá
Anders Götherström
Anders Götherström Stockholm University
Rosa Huguet
Rosa Huguet Spanish National Research Council

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