This year’s Calpe Conference, the thirtieth in the series, will bring to Gibraltar world leading experts on the subject of human evolution.
Organised once again by the Gibraltar National Museum, the conference aims to produce an up-to-date “state of the question” analysis of our knowledge and understanding of the Neanderthals. Recent research in the fields of genetics and behavioural ecology, in particular, are rapidly changing our views on the Neanderthals. Gibraltar has been at the forefront of this research with work at its UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Gorham’s Cave Complex having contributed greatly to the changing perspectives.
The Gorham’s site celebrates its tenth anniversary of inscription on the World Heritage List this year, which is also the centenary of the discovery of the Gibraltar 2 Neanderthal in Devil’s Tower Cave. The four-year old Neanderthal became popularly known as Flint when a forensic reconstruction, alongside the Gibraltar 1 Neanderthal from Forbes’ Quarry, was first exhibited at the museum in 2016. A new image of Flint has now been commissioned by the Gibraltar National Museum. It has been produced by internationally recognised palaeoartist Mauricio Antón and is featured in the conference poster and programme. This new image was first revealed at the museum prior to the Museum Open Day on the 15th May.
The Calpe programme is spectacular, with fifty academic institutions represented from fourteen different countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Ireland, Israel, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The conference takes place at the University of Gibraltar between the 2nd and 5th September and registration, free for local residents, is now open at https://www.gibmuseum.gi/news/calpe-2026
Minister for Heritage, the Hon Prof John Cortes, said: “The Gibraltar National Museum continues to make its own unique contribution to our global understanding of human evolution. Its research is recognised internationally and has helped place Gibraltar at the centre of important discoveries about our Neanderthal past. We are proud to welcome so many leading scientists to Gibraltar once again for what promises to be an outstanding 10th anniversary Calpe Conference.”
