A new specimen and dental microwear in Oreopithecus bambolii.

The authors describe a new specimen of Oreopithecus bambolii, a catarrhine primate from late Miocene sites of Tuscany and Sardinia (Italy). Microwears of 4 specimens of Oreopithecus bambolii have been analysed on standard surfaces of facet 9 to determine the diet. The microwear pattern confirms the hypothesis already put forward on the basis of its dental morphology that Oreopithecus bambolii had a leaf-based diet.

New Middle Pleistocene human remains from northern Italy.

The description of several teeth and a fragment of mandible found in the Visogliano rock-shelter (Northern Italy) is presented in this paper. The teeth have been analysed from a morphological and metrical point of view and compared with other specimens of Homo erectus, archaic Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. The MD and BL diameters and the peculiar dental features are archaic and support the antiquity of the specimens. Microwear analysis of Visogliano teeth show various dietary strategies adopted by the individuals of the same site.

Taphonomy of the fossil hominid bones from the Acheulean site of Castel di Guido near Rome, Italy.

Castel di Guido near Rome is one of the few open air Middle Pleistocene European sites that has yielded hominid skeletal remains associated with fossil fauna and Acheulean implements. The fossil hominid bones include two femoral shafts, respectively designated Castel di Guido-1 (CdG-1) and CdG-2, an occipital fragment (CdG-3), a right maxilla lacking teeth (CdG-4), a portion of right parietal (CdG-5), a right temporal (CdG-6), and a fragment of left parietal vault (CdG-7). CdG-1 through CdG-4 were collected in 1979-1982 on the surface, together with fossil fauna, where ploughing incised fossiliferous tuffaceous sands. Excavations conducted in the same area from 1980 to 1990 led to the discovery of CdG-5, CdG-6 and CdG-7 within the tuffaceous sands, which were shown to overlay a bone-bearing paleosurface, with abundant evidence of hominid activities. The Castel di Guido hominid assemblage poses intriguing taphonomic questions. The analysis of the physical evidence offered by the bone surfaces, reported in the present study, indicates that the hominid skeletal remains were heavily fragmented before fossilization and exposed to carnivores and rodents, as well as to trampling and/or friction in abrasive sediment. Although definitive conclusions cannot be reached on the basis of the available evidence, it is possible that clusters of incisions localized on specific regions of the Castel di Guido fossil hominid bones might reflect deliberate human manipulations.

A cranium for the earliest Europeans: phylogenetic position of the hominid from Ceprano, Italy.

The human fossil evidence unequivocally pertaining to the first inhabitants of Europe at present includes the sample from Atapuerca-TD6 (Spain) and the incomplete adult calvaria discovered near Ceprano, in Southern Latium (Italy). On the basis of regional correlations and a series of absolute dates, the age of the Ceprano hominid is estimated to range between 800 and 900 kilo-annum (ka). In addition, the association with archaic (Mode 1) Paleolithic findings from the same area is suggested. After the completed reconstruction of the calvaria, we present here a new study dealing with the general and more detailed aspects of the morphology displayed by Ceprano, in comparison to fossil samples ranging between Early and Middle Pleistocene. According to our results, cranial features indicate that Ceprano represents a unique morphological bridge between the clade Homo ergaster/erectus and later Middle Pleistocene specimens commonly referred to Homo heidelbergensis (and/or to Homo rhodesiensis), particularly those belonging to the African fossil record that ultimately relates to the origin of modern humans. In conclusion, given its geographical, chronological, and phylogenetic position, an attribution to the species Homo antecessor is considered, although the sample from Atapuerca-TD6 is not directly comparable to Ceprano. Alternatively, a new species-ancestral to later European and African hominines-should be named to accommodate such a unique fossil specimen.

DNA analyses of the remains of the Prince Branciforte Barresi family.

The five skeletons found buried in the church of Militello di Catania, Sicily, were tentatively identified by morphological analysis and historical reports as the remains of Prince Branciforte Barresi, two of his children, his brother and another juvenile member of the family (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries). In order to attempt to clarify the degree of relationships of the five skeletons, sex testing and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence analysis of the hypervariable segments I and II (HV1 and HV2) of control region were performed. Moreover, the 9 bp-deletion marker of region V (COII/tRNAlys) was examined. Molecular genetic analyses were consistent with historical expectations, although they did not directly demonstrate that these are in fact the remains of the Prince and his relatives, due to the impossibility of obtaining DNA from living maternal relatives of the Prince.

A reconsideration of the Archi 1 Neandertal mandible.

A reassessment of the early last glacial immature Neandertal mandibular corpus from Archi indicates a series of features in which it closely resembles other pre-adolescent Neandertal mandibles and contrasts with those of similarly aged recent humans. These are in the context of a re-aging of the specimen to ca. 3 years on the basis of deciduous dental eruption and attrition and permanent dental calcification. The Archi 1 mandible resembles other immature. Neandertals in having a "retreating" symphyseal profile in the context of moderate development of mental trigone features. It is relatively robust in the development of lateral and basilar corpus features and some increased symphyseal and lateral corpus thickness. And it exhibits, along with other Middle Paleolithic immature mandibles, anteriorly wide dental arcades, probably due to large developing anterior permanent tooth crowns.

Deciduous teeth of the Neandertal mandible from Molare Shelter, near Scario (Salerno, Italy).

Excavations at hearth levels at the Molare Shelter in 1985 yielded the mandible of a 3-4-year-old child. The associated lithic artifacts recovered with it are Mousterian. Its features, although quite archaic, are within the known range of variation of Neandertals. Four deciduous molars are still preserved in the mandible. They were compared with other known specimens, which date to the Middle and Upper Pleistocene. The metrical characteristics are surprisingly primitive, within the range of variation of Homo erectus, or at least within that of European Pre-Neandertals, more so than within the variability of typical Neandertal specimens. On the other hand, the morphological characteristics, except for a few that are decidedly plesiomorph, are predominantly Neandertal.

Human temporal bone from the lower Paleolithic site of Castel di Guido, near Rome, Italy.

The Castel di Guido site, with an estimated age of approximately 300,000 years, has yielded abundant animal remains, Acheulian stone and bone bifaces, and small tools. On the surface of the original deposit, turned over by agricultural activities, fragments of human remains were discovered between 1980 and 1986, including a temporal bone described here.

Palaenutritional studies on skeletal remains of ancient populations from the Mediterranean area: an attempt to interpretation.

As indicators of dietary status, standardised levels of strontium and zinc in specimens of bones from several prehistoric and historic sites in Europe are compared. The bone level of strontium reflects the vegetable intake in the diet, the level of zinc that of foods of animal origin. The large quantities of plants in the diet of palaeolitic hunters gave way in the mesolithic to an almost exclusively vegetarian diet, but then an increase in meat consumption in the neolithic. Agricultural economies characterised classical Greece and Rome, but the big towns were able to maintain a mixed diet. In the early centuries AD there was a decline in agricultural consumption.

Human remains of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis from the pleistocene deposit of Santa [corrected] Croce Cave, Bisceglie (Apulia), Italy.

The paper deals with a Neanderthal human femur, recovered during excavations in Santa [corrected] Croce Cave, Bisceglie. The cave also yielded Mousterian lithic industry and fauna indicating a paleoclimate condition with dry-warm tendency and savannah landscape. Metrical, morphometrical, and morphological analysis, and the comparison with Neanderthal specimens show that the femur belonged to an adult individual. It particularly shows great affinities with the analogous specimens from La Ferrassie 1 and 2, Spy 2, and Fond de Forêt, which are similar in size and, above all, show similar archaic morphological traits.

Neanderthal parietal, vertebrate fauna, and stone artifacts from the Upper Pleistocene deposits of Contrada Ianní di San Calogero (Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy).

Human skeletal remains recovered at a new archaeological site, dating back to the Italian Mousterian age are analyzed. The finds consist of a left parietal of a child about 2-3 years old. The metrical, morphometrical, and morphological traits of this parietal are compared to those of other Neanderthal children. The geological features of the site, its fauna, and stone artifacts recovered there during quarry operations are also analyzed.

New European fossil hominid material from an Acheulean site near Rome (Castel di Guido).

New fossil hominid material recovered from an Acheulean Italian archeological site is reported. It consists of two portions of femora, an occipital fragment, a fragmentary right maxilla, and a portion of parietal. Each specimen is described in detail and measurements are given. On the basis of the morphology, which includes primitive traits reminiscent of Homo erectus, and of the archeological, paleontological, and stratigraphical association, these new fossils are referred to the early European group.