Miquel Carandell (Aiguafreda) spoke about the Orce Man with students in their second year of the science Baccalaureate at La Garrotxa secondary school. Carandell explained the history of this skull fragment that was initially thought to be the “first European”, the oldest human being on the continent. This discovery was heralded around the world in 1983. One year later, the remains were found to belong to another species and not a human ancestor.

By reconstructing the history of the Orce Man, in his talk Carandell aimed to explain why it is important to consider not only technical aspects but also the political context, public presentation and personal issues to properly understand scientific research.

Miquel Carandell Baruzzi has a degree in Biology, master in History of Science and PhD in History of Science. He is at Faberllull through 1 December to take part in the Earth sciences: history, science and society residency. During this time, he proposes to transform the research he did for his PhD thesis on the Orce Man into a novel that falls somewhere between historical essay and fiction.