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during railroad construction. After 100
years of distracting events, discovery of a
nearby burial crevice at what has been
called “Sima de los Huesos” (“Pit of the
Bones”) excited even greater scientific
interest. A quartzite hand ax lifted from
among these bones symbolizes, perhaps
even more than the bones themselves, the
earliest moment when what might be called
a Spaniard applied his skill to the creation
of what was both a tool and an expression
of feeling.
first duty of A
MADEO
I in Spain was to
attend Prim's funeral.
Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja,
Miguel (marqués de Estella)
(1870-1930)
Spanish military leader and statesman
Born to a military family, Primo de Rivera
fought against nationalist rebels in C
UBA
and the P
HILIPPINE
I
SLANDS
and against
Moroccan opponents of Spain's attempts to
establish a protectorate in that country.
Thanks to his personal dynamism and fam-
ily connections he became a general in his
40s. Despite involvement in a number of
political controversies he attained the cap-
taincy general in B
ARCELONA
by 1923. He
was well placed to take advantage of the
multiple problems that beset Spain in its
post-S
PANISH
-A
MERICAN
W
AR
era, including
socioeconomic upheaval and a sense of
marginalization following World War I. The
aftermath of the humiliating defeat at
A
NUAL
(June 1921) led A
LFONSO
XIII to
seek a “savior” and Primo de Rivera to pro-
claim his availability for that role.
On September 13, 1923, Primo de Rivera
overturned 50 years of civilian government
and democratic process by proclaiming the
military takeover of the state. After three
months of escalating antagonisms between
the cabinet and the high command, and
with the clandestine encouragement of offi-
cers close to the king, he declared that he
was acting against terrorism, financial
incompetence, communist threats, impiety,
regional extremism, the Moroccan prob-
Prim y Prats, Juan (Joan Prim i
Prats; conde de Reus, marqués de
los Castillejos)
(1814-1870)
Spanish general and statesman
As a young officer this Catalan soldier
fought to uphold the succession of I
SABELLA
II during the First Carlist War. Having estab-
lished his value to the regime during the
next round of political upheaval in the early
1840s, he was successively appointed gov-
ernor of P
UERTO
R
ICO
(1847), field com-
mander in Morocco (1859), and leader of a
Spanish contingent within the international
expedition sent to restore order in M
EXICO
in 1861.
Back in Spain in 1863 he took part in
various attempts against the government
of Isabella II. Like many other Spanish
officers, Prim had come to believe that her
reign had turned into a national scandal,
and when she was finally driven into exile
in 1868, he emerged as a member of the
new leadership. Although the final choice
for a replacement ruler, Prince Amadeo
of Italy, owed his selection largely to
Prim's support, the general was assassi-
nated by political enemies on the eve of
the new king's arrival, and virtually the
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