2026 Spain Cova Gran

Location: Lleida, Spain

Season: June 20, 2026 to July 18, 2026

Application Deadline: April 10, 2026

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://anthroctr.org/program/2026-spain-cova-gran/

Discount for AIA members: None

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain) & Anthropocene Research Center (US)

Project Director:
Dr. Javier Sánchez Martínez & Prof. Rafael Mora Torcal (Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) & Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Project Description:

Where did we, humans, come from and where are we, contemporary people, heading to? These important and intimately related questions have become increasingly relevant as technological [r]evolution, along with profound political, economic, and cultural changes impact our daily lives. Leading scholarship on the issue has become broadly read and widely popular – Yuval Noah Hararri’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Gerald Dimond’s The World Until Yesterday and Graeber & Wengrow’s The Dawn of Everything, to name just a few.

This program deals with our beginning, with the emergence of modern humans as seen from Southern Europe. It also deals with relationships & interaction with our closest relatives – Homo neanderthalensis. While our work is highly focused and limited in space, the unique level of preservation and depth of occupation history at Cova Gran offers an exceptional opportunity to study our ancestors, their interactions with the environment, with other hominins and with each other.

Period(s) of Occupation: Prehistory

Notes:
Tuition is $4,860; Earn 8 Semester Credit Units (equivalent to 12 Quarter Credit Units) through our School of Record – Culver Stockton College

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Full session

Minimum Age: 18 years old

Experience Required: None. This is hands-on, experiential learning and students will study on-site how to conduct archaeological research. Field work involves physical work and exposure to the elements and thus requires a measure of understanding that this will not be the typical university learning environment. You will have to work outdoors and will get sweaty and tired. Students are required to come equipped with sufficient excitement and an adequate understanding that fieldwork requires real, hard work, in the sun and wind. The work requires patience, discipline, and attention to detail.

Room and Board Arrangements:
Participants will live at the Alberg LaCova guest house. This rural house has shared rooms (6-8 people) and community areas. The house, bathrooms and rooms will be regularly cleaned. The Alberg provides sheets – sleeping bags are not necessary. There is Wi-Fi and a laundry machine for students to wash their clothes. Students will take turns and help maintain clean community spaces such as the dining room and dormitories. The program will provide two large meals a day – lunch and dinner. These meals will include different local dishes composed of a mix of vegetables, meat, and fish, with fresh fruit. Vegetarians and participants with celiac allergies are welcome but may face limited and repetitive food options.

Academic Credit:
8 Semester Credit Units (equivalent to 12 Quarter Credit Units) through our School of Record – Culver Stockton College