Juan Luis Arsuaga Ferreras (born 1954 in Madrid) is a Spanish paleoanthropologist and author known for his work in the Atapuerca Archaeological Site. He obtained a master's degree and a doctorate in Biological Sciences at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where he is professor in the Paleontology Department of the Faculty of Geological Sciences. As a child he already showed a great interest in prehistory after reading The Quest for Fire and visiting a dig in nearby Bilbao.