Arsuaga is a visiting professor of the Department of Anthropology at the University College of London and since 1982 he has been a member of the Research Team investigating Pleistocene deposits in the Atapuerca Mountains (Province of Burgos, Spain). He has been a co-director since 1991 with José María Bermúdez de Castro and Eudald Carbonell Roura of the Atapuerca Team, which was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize in "Scientific and Technical Research" category and the Castilla León Prize in "Social Sciences and Humanities" category, both in 1997.