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.

All field school directors are experts in their field and passionate about their work. To discuss the suitability of this program for your career goals – whether within or outside academia – you are invited to contact the directors directly. For a broader discussion which ARC program to choose, you are welcome to contact our staff directly – you can do that through our “Contact Us” page.

Researcher at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES)(Spain)

Professor at the Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain)

• Application: You must apply online for this program – application is free
• Deposit: A $300 nonrefundable deposit (part of the total tuition cost) is required to secure a space in the program
• Credit Card Fee: Payments with credits cards incur 3% processing fee
• Late Fee: A $100 Late Fee will be added to the program costs if tuition is not paid in full by payment deadline
• Cancellation Policy: Carefully read our Cancellation Policy before committing to attending our programs
• Trip Cancellation Insurance: Trip cancellation insurance is not provided by ARC. Such policies have changed due to Covid 19. If you wish to purchase an insurance policy that covers pandemic contingencies, explore Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) plans. Insuremytrip or Travel Guard are possible websites where you may explore different insurance policies.

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.

We suggest you hold purchasing your airline ticket until six (6) weeks before the program begins. Natural disasters, political changes, weather conditions & a range of other factors may require the cancellation of a field school. ARC typically makes a final Go/No Go decision six weeks before program begins. To protect students from potential financial loss, we urge you to purchase airline tickets only six weeks prior to program beginning.

Students will be met by program staff at the Bar-Cafeteria at Lleida-Pirineus RENFE railway station on the first day of the field school at 7:00pm. Trains to Lleida-Pyreneus depart frequently from the main train station in Barcelona (Barcelona-Sants RENFE). Trains from the Barcelona-El Prat Airport to the Barcelona-Sants RENFE railway station depart every 30 minutes. The train schedule from the Barcelona-Sants RENFE railway station to Lleida-Pirineus RENFE railway station can be found at http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html.

Spain is a party to the Schengen Agreement. As such, US citizens may enter Italy for up to 90 days for tourist purposes without a visa. Your passport should be valid for at least three months beyond the period of your stay.

Citizens of other countries, please visit the Spanish Embassy website at your home country for visa information.