Pau's wold

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Welcome to the p@leo_ruta® "Pau's world".

My name is Marius and I'm a palaeontologist. Palaeontology is the science that enables us to re-enact the history of life by studying fossils.

And you might...

We will make the most of the fact that the route goes through the middle of the village to explain that the origin of Els Hostalets de Pierola lies in the crossroads of the Cami Romeu (from Vilafranca...

Come on, let's go! Let's start the route on which many palaeontologists started to explore our palaeontological heritage. It was a real adventure in the past as the great palaeontologists set out on...

Let's go back to the origin of our route on palaeontology and the Miocene. This is the period in the history of the Earth from 23 to 5 million years ago. The climate in this area, including the Vallès...

Now that we have put you in the picture, let me introduce you to Pau. Pau is the fossil of a hominid from 12 million years ago. His scientific name is Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, i.e. 'Catalonian...

Don't forget to look around you! Everything is fields. One of the traditional activities in our area is agriculture. The fertile clay soil of Els Hostalets enables us to grow vines intensively, mainly...

One of the traits that makes Pau so special is the way he moved, as it was different from other primates. Pau lived in the trees. To climb up there he used his hands and feet and hauled himself up...

What is this building in front of us? It is the farmhouse of Ocata. Only the diaphragm arch and a small oven survive from the outer buildings. This place was investigated in the 1940s and 50s by...

Pau didn't live by himself, you know! If we went back in time 12 million years, we would realise that Pau lived in woods of deciduous trees, like the maple, walnut tree, and the poplar, with willows...

Let's take a look at the surrounding landscape.
The Miocene clay at Els Hostalets is considered a Space of Geological Interest.

In the Miocene, avalanches of mud and clay came down, torrents and floods...

Have I explained how we found Pau? That day brings back great memories... everything happened so quickly. The excavator was digging up clay in the area around Can Vila. A palaeontologist from our team...

I'm sure that as we have been walking you have heard noises of other animals near the path, and you might even have seen footprints on the ground. We are in a living landscape where you can come...

Les restes fòssils d'en Pau van ser investigades per un equip de paleontòlegs especialitzats en primats fòssils de l'ICP, juntament amb un equip de geòlegs que van descriure i interpretar els estrats...

Pau was found in the ravine at Can Vila, to the right of the landfill. The truth is that this area had been researched by Crusafont and Villalta in the 1940s and 50s, when they made various...

Can you see the farmhouse to the left of the landfill with a chapel by its side? That's Can Mata de la Garriga, the name of a farm dating from 1855, with medieval origins. It is the head of a large...

Now that we've been walking for a good while, we could rest a bit, don't you think? Let's sit down at the Font de l'Ocata (also called Eucata), which dates from 1919 and is owned by a family from Can...

We can also see other facilities on the landscape. As part of the landfill site at Can Mata, an Ecopark opened at Els Hostalets in 2010 - a waste treatment plant serving the metropolitan area of...

Now take a good look and see how strange the shape of the land is! From here, you can see on your right a curious formation, popularly known as the “Little Train” (Trenet in Catalan) because it...

(fossils and sites) helps us to understand our own place in nature.

In Catalonia this heritage forms part of the Cultural Heritage of Catalonia and is protected by law. It is everyone's responsibility...

Over 150 different species have been identified at all the sites located in Els Hostalets.

The most significant are species of primates that have only been found here, such as the Pierolapithecus...

OK, so we've come to the end of our route.
Pau was a great discovery for Els Hostalets, as finding fossilised animals is not easy, and finding primates is even more exceptional.

Pau is a key being for...