The genus Sciurus is known since Late Miocene in the European fossil record, but it is quite rare... more The genus Sciurus is known since Late Miocene in the European fossil record, but it is quite rare. Fossil remains of squirrels occur in relatively few sites and generally with very few specimens, sometimes only one or two teeth. Recent finds of a Sciurus vulgaris mandible from Grotta Mora Cavorso (Latium), and the reanalysis of the red squirrel remains from the Caverna delle Arene Candide (Liguria), the Riparo Soman (Veneto) and the Grotta del Santuario della Madonna (Calabria) provide new data and insights on the change in size of the rodent and on its geographic and ecological distribution in the Pleistocene and Holocene of Italy. The study of food preferences of the current red squirrel predators provides solid comparative data to measure the relative rarity of the bone remains found in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene paleontological deposits and archaeological contexts. Taphonomic analysis, particularly on the latest Pleistocene remains from the Caverna delle Arene Candide, sh...
Fieldwork performed during the last 15 years in various Early Pleistocene East African sites has ... more Fieldwork performed during the last 15 years in various Early Pleistocene East African sites has significantly enlarged the fossil record of Homo erectus sensu lato (s.l.). Additional evidence comes from the Danakil Depression of Eritrea, where over 200 late Early to early Middle Pleistocene sites have been identified within a w1000 m-thick sedimentary succession outcropping in the Dandiero Rift Basin, near Buia. Along with an adult cranium (UA 31), which displays a blend of H. erectus-like and derived morphoarchitectural features and three pelvic remains, two isolated permanent incisors (UA 222 and UA 369) have also been recovered from the 1 Ma (millions of years ago) Homo-bearing outcrop of Uadi Aalad. Since 2010, our surveys have expanded to the nearby (4.7 km) site of Mulhuli-Amo (MA). This is a fossiliferous area that has been preliminarily surveyed because of its exceptional concentration of Acheulean stone tools. So far, the site has yielded 10 human remains, including the unworn crown of a lower permanent molar (MA 93). Using diverse analytical tools (including high resolution mCT and mMRI), we analysed the external and internal macromorphology and microstructure of the three specimens, and whenever possible compared the results with similar evidence from early Homo, H. erectus s.l., H. antecessor, H. heidelbergensis (from North Africa), Neanderthals and modern humans. We also assessed the UA 369 lower incisor from Uadi Aalad for root completion timing and showed that it compares well with data for root apex closure in modern human populations.
Il sito di La Polledrara di Cecanibbio è localizzato a circa 22 km da Roma nel settore occidental... more Il sito di La Polledrara di Cecanibbio è localizzato a circa 22 km da Roma nel settore occidentale della Campagna Romana (Fig. 1) ed è stato individuato nel 1984 nell'ambito di un programma di ricognizioni territoriali promosse dall'allora Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma (SSBAR), oggi Soprintendenza Speciale per il Colosseo, il Museo Nazionale Romano e l'Area Archeologica di Roma. Tra il 1985 ed il 2013 il sito è stato oggetto di scavi regolari, finanziati dalla medesima Soprintendenza, che hanno messo in luce un'area di circa 1200 metri quadrati costituita dal paleoalveo di un fiume e dalle zone limitrofe interessate da fenomeni di esondazione (
Les niveaux d'occupation humaine de la grotte de Sainte-Anne I, situee en moyenne montagne, s... more Les niveaux d'occupation humaine de la grotte de Sainte-Anne I, situee en moyenne montagne, sont dates des stades isotopiques 7 et 6. Ceux du site de Payre, grotte puis abri sous roche situe en bordure de la vallee du Rhone, sont dates des stades isotopiques 7 a 5. L'etude des matieres premieres de l'unite archeostratigraphique J1 de Sainte-Anne I met en evidence des collectes majoritaires aux environs immediats du site (materiaux volcaniques et la plupart des silex), mais aussi un espace d'approvisionnement complementaire (silex) relativement vaste, alors que celui propose pour le niveau Gb de Payre est plus restreint. Les hommes ont vraisemblablement parcouru les biotopes locaux autour de Payre, plateau, versant et vallees de la Payre et du Rhone, ou cervides, bovides et equides ont ete les les plus abondamment exploites. A Sainte-Anne I, ce sont les equides qui dominent les assemblages mais d'une facon generale, les especes collectees refletent une mosaique de milieux controlee par la geomorphologie qui corrobore l'image renvoyee par les matieres premieres : reliefs cristallins pour le renne, plateaux basaltiques pour les equides, falaises pour le bouquetin, vallees boisees pour le cerf et le chevreuil. Les secteurs parcourus par les occupants des deux sites ne montrent pas veritablement de difference significative de comportement, tant pour l'approvisionnement en matieres premieres que pour la chasse ou le charognage des grands mammiferes et les differences paraissent plus dependre du contexte geologique et topographique. La maniere d'exploiter un “ territoire ” par les occupants des deux sites obeirait donc sensiblement aux memes regles au cours des stades isotopiques 7 et 6.
Le condizioni ambientali che accompagnarono la colonizzazione antropica tardoglaciale iniziarono ... more Le condizioni ambientali che accompagnarono la colonizzazione antropica tardoglaciale iniziarono a delinearsi con la deglaciazione würmiana, un processo scandito cronologicamente dalle date radiocarbonio (14.765±135 e 14.370±115 B.P.) dei larici del bacino di Revine. A questa fase, che vede l’impostazione di un ambiente a parco nelle sedi occupate dai rami periferici del ghiacciaio del Piave durante l’Ultimo Massimo Glaciale, appartengono le prime attestazioni di occupazione dei margini prealpini da parte degli epigravettiani. Il Riparo Tagliente, a 250 m di quota sul fondo della Valpantena nei Monti Lessini, presenta i tratti salienti di sito a frequentazione ripetuta, in un ambiente aperto dove stambecchi e bovidi costituivano le specie predominanti nell’economia di caccia
Cetacean mass strandings occur regularly worldwide, yet the compounded effects of natural and ant... more Cetacean mass strandings occur regularly worldwide, yet the compounded effects of natural and anthropogenic factors often complicate our understanding of these phenomena. Evidence of past stranding episodes may, thus, be essential to establish the potential influence of climate change. Investigations on bones from the site of Grotta dell'Uzzo in North West Sicily (Italy) show that the rapid climate change around 8,200 years ago coincided with increased strandings in the Mediterranean Sea. Stable isotope analyses on collagen from a large sample of remains recovered at this cave indicate that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers relied little on marine resources. A human and a red fox dating to the 8.2-kyr-BP climatic event, however, acquired at least one third of their protein from cetaceans. Numerous carcasses should have been available annually, for at least a decade, to obtain these proportions of meat. Our findings imply that climate-driven environmental changes, caused by global warming, may represent a serious threat to cetaceans in the near future. The consequences of anthropogenic climate change for cetaceans are difficult to predict. It has been postulated that long-term changes in physical oceanography, induced by ongoing climate change, will affect primary producers and, through knock-on effects, consumers at every level of the food chain and, especially, apex predators such as many marine mammals 1. Studies on different temporal scales show that cycles in cetacean strandings are correlated to anomalies in temperature 2 , wind 3 and continental-scale climate systems 4 , such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). We present data on the repercussions of abrupt early Holocene climate change for cetaceans living in the Mediterranean Sea and on how humans opportunistically adapted to them, through a study on the site of Grotta dell'Uzzo (Fig. 1) in North West Sicily (Italy).
L'abri sous roche Dalmeri se trouve sur le Plateau de Asiago (TN) a 1240 m d'altitude. La... more L'abri sous roche Dalmeri se trouve sur le Plateau de Asiago (TN) a 1240 m d'altitude. La stratigraphie, datee de la fin du Tardiglaciaire wurmien, presente une sequence de niveaux a cailloutis avec un grande nombre de restes fauniques et une industrie lithique abondante. L'abri Dalmeri est un des rares gisements italiens de haute montagne ou les vestiges osseux se sont conserves, On y a chasse le bouquetin, qui represente 90% des restes, et plus rarement le cerf et le chevreuil; on y a aussi identifie la presence du castor, du lievre, du renard, de l'ours, du loup, de la marmotte et du herisson. Les restes osseux sont tres fragmentes. Les facteurs responsables de cette fragmentation sont, outre les agents naturels, les procedures de decoupe, l'extraction de la moelle, l'utilisation de l'os et l'action des carnivores (plusieurs vestiges presentent des traces dues a l'action corrosive des sucs gastriques). De nombreux fragments presentent des traces de racines, de dents de carnivores et de rongeurs ainsi que des stries caracteristiques de l'action d'un instrument lithique sur la surface de l'os.
Seven Vindija (Croatia) Neandertal teeth, dated about 32,000 years ago, were analyzed to determin... more Seven Vindija (Croatia) Neandertal teeth, dated about 32,000 years ago, were analyzed to determine patterning of scratches on the anterior teeth. Oblique scratches exclusively on the labial faces of incisors and canines represent a distinctive pattern, characteristic of hand directed, non-masticatory activities. At Vindija and elsewhere these scratches reveal activities, which were performed primarily with the right hand. The late Neandertals from Vindija, combined with other studies, show that European Neandertals were predominately right-handed with a ratio 15:2 (88.2%), a frequency similar to living people. Studies of teeth from Atapuerca extend this modern ratio to more than 500,000 years ago and increase the frequency of right- handers in the European fossil record to almost 94%. Species-wide, preferential right-handedness is a defining feature of modern Homo sapiens, tied to brain laterality and language with the 9:1 ratio of right- to left- handers - a reflection of the link between left hemispheric dominance and language. Up-to-date behavioral and anatomical studies of Neandertal fossils and the recent discovery of their possession of the FOXP2 gene indicate Neandertals (and, very likely, their European ancestors) had linguistic capacities similar to living humans.
Labial striations on the anterior teeth have been documented in numerous European pre-Neandertal ... more Labial striations on the anterior teeth have been documented in numerous European pre-Neandertal and Neandertal fossils and serve as evidence for handedness. OH-65, dated at 1.8 mya, shows a concentration of oblique striations on, especially, the left I(1) and right I(1), I(2) and C(1), which signal that it was right-handed. From these patterns we contend that OH-65 was habitually using the right hand, over the left, in manipulating objects during some kind of oral processing. In living humans right-handedness is generally correlated with brain lateralization, although the strength of the association is questioned by some. We propose that as more specimens are found, right-handedness, as seen in living Homo, will most probably be typical of these early hominins.
Abstract Riparo Dalmeri is an Epigravettian high altitude rock shelter, seasonally occupied for s... more Abstract Riparo Dalmeri is an Epigravettian high altitude rock shelter, seasonally occupied for specialized ibex hunting. Its occupation pattern indicates the mobility of human groups from the lowlands to the mountains, in order to exploit a territory which is inaccessible during the winter. This work presents the results of the taphonomic study carried out on the bird bone assemblages from Riparo Dalmeri, where birds play a secondary role as an economic resource, when compared to the intense seasonal exploitation of ibex. Despite its small size, the bird bone assemblage still provides valuable ecological information as well as information about anthropic traces connected with food exploitation and other resources. The most common human modifications detected on the bird bones are those related to butchery: stone tool cut-marks, fresh bone fracture, peeling, crushing, wrenching, and, more rarely, notches or chop-marks. Localized burning traces have also been detected.
In Veneto la Grotta di Fumane continua a riservarci sorprese con reperti ossei che attestano l’us... more In Veneto la Grotta di Fumane continua a riservarci sorprese con reperti ossei che attestano l’uso di penne e unghielli di grandi rapaci come ornamento: una scoperta che cambia il modo di guardare ai nostri lontani cugini neandertaliani Estremamente vivo e ricco di colpi di scena appare il dibattito scientifico sull’Uomo di Neandertal, la sua biologia, la vita sociale, la sussistenza e soprattutto il comportamento simbolico. Un aspetto, quest’ultimo, che marca uno dei picchi di attenzione da parte degli antropologi, in quanto intimamente legato alla scomparsa dei nostri “cugini” tra 50 e 40 mila anni fa: quali sistemi di identificazione adottavano per loro stessi, le proprie famiglie e i membri dei clan, sempre che una qualche struttura sociale ne contemplasse l’esistenza? Gli interrogativi non lasciano dubbi: identificare tra i Neandertal comportamenti etnograficamente “moderni”, cioè più prossimi al modo “sapiens” di pensare e strutturare la società, porta inevitabilmente a interrogarsi sulla loro origine: fu autoctona o il risultato di interazioni con i primi Uomini Anatomicamente Moderni (Homo sapiens) che colonizzarono l’Europa 41-40 mila anni fa? Se, da un lato, il confronto con il DNA fossile neandertaliano rivela le tracce di un flusso genico verso i sapiens euro-asiatici, dall’altro l’archeologia esclude contatti tra le due forme biologiche, sostenendo piuttosto l’emergenza autonoma, da parte dei Neandertal, di certe invenzioni nella scheggiatura della pietra, la lavorazione dell’osso e, appunto, l’impiego di materiali ad uso ornamentale: conchiglie marine e canini di volpe e di orso perforati suggeriscono un’attenzione verso l’adorno del corpo o degli abiti, arricchita dall’impiego di polveri coloranti ricavate dalla triturazione di ossidi di ferro e manganese. […
The genus Sciurus is known since Late Miocene in the European fossil record, but it is quite rare... more The genus Sciurus is known since Late Miocene in the European fossil record, but it is quite rare. Fossil remains of squirrels occur in relatively few sites and generally with very few specimens, sometimes only one or two teeth. Recent finds of a Sciurus vulgaris mandible from Grotta Mora Cavorso (Latium), and the reanalysis of the red squirrel remains from the Caverna delle Arene Candide (Liguria), the Riparo Soman (Veneto) and the Grotta del Santuario della Madonna (Calabria) provide new data and insights on the change in size of the rodent and on its geographic and ecological distribution in the Pleistocene and Holocene of Italy. The study of food preferences of the current red squirrel predators provides solid comparative data to measure the relative rarity of the bone remains found in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene paleontological deposits and archaeological contexts. Taphonomic analysis, particularly on the latest Pleistocene remains from the Caverna delle Arene Candide, sh...
Fieldwork performed during the last 15 years in various Early Pleistocene East African sites has ... more Fieldwork performed during the last 15 years in various Early Pleistocene East African sites has significantly enlarged the fossil record of Homo erectus sensu lato (s.l.). Additional evidence comes from the Danakil Depression of Eritrea, where over 200 late Early to early Middle Pleistocene sites have been identified within a w1000 m-thick sedimentary succession outcropping in the Dandiero Rift Basin, near Buia. Along with an adult cranium (UA 31), which displays a blend of H. erectus-like and derived morphoarchitectural features and three pelvic remains, two isolated permanent incisors (UA 222 and UA 369) have also been recovered from the 1 Ma (millions of years ago) Homo-bearing outcrop of Uadi Aalad. Since 2010, our surveys have expanded to the nearby (4.7 km) site of Mulhuli-Amo (MA). This is a fossiliferous area that has been preliminarily surveyed because of its exceptional concentration of Acheulean stone tools. So far, the site has yielded 10 human remains, including the unworn crown of a lower permanent molar (MA 93). Using diverse analytical tools (including high resolution mCT and mMRI), we analysed the external and internal macromorphology and microstructure of the three specimens, and whenever possible compared the results with similar evidence from early Homo, H. erectus s.l., H. antecessor, H. heidelbergensis (from North Africa), Neanderthals and modern humans. We also assessed the UA 369 lower incisor from Uadi Aalad for root completion timing and showed that it compares well with data for root apex closure in modern human populations.
Il sito di La Polledrara di Cecanibbio è localizzato a circa 22 km da Roma nel settore occidental... more Il sito di La Polledrara di Cecanibbio è localizzato a circa 22 km da Roma nel settore occidentale della Campagna Romana (Fig. 1) ed è stato individuato nel 1984 nell'ambito di un programma di ricognizioni territoriali promosse dall'allora Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma (SSBAR), oggi Soprintendenza Speciale per il Colosseo, il Museo Nazionale Romano e l'Area Archeologica di Roma. Tra il 1985 ed il 2013 il sito è stato oggetto di scavi regolari, finanziati dalla medesima Soprintendenza, che hanno messo in luce un'area di circa 1200 metri quadrati costituita dal paleoalveo di un fiume e dalle zone limitrofe interessate da fenomeni di esondazione (
Les niveaux d'occupation humaine de la grotte de Sainte-Anne I, situee en moyenne montagne, s... more Les niveaux d'occupation humaine de la grotte de Sainte-Anne I, situee en moyenne montagne, sont dates des stades isotopiques 7 et 6. Ceux du site de Payre, grotte puis abri sous roche situe en bordure de la vallee du Rhone, sont dates des stades isotopiques 7 a 5. L'etude des matieres premieres de l'unite archeostratigraphique J1 de Sainte-Anne I met en evidence des collectes majoritaires aux environs immediats du site (materiaux volcaniques et la plupart des silex), mais aussi un espace d'approvisionnement complementaire (silex) relativement vaste, alors que celui propose pour le niveau Gb de Payre est plus restreint. Les hommes ont vraisemblablement parcouru les biotopes locaux autour de Payre, plateau, versant et vallees de la Payre et du Rhone, ou cervides, bovides et equides ont ete les les plus abondamment exploites. A Sainte-Anne I, ce sont les equides qui dominent les assemblages mais d'une facon generale, les especes collectees refletent une mosaique de milieux controlee par la geomorphologie qui corrobore l'image renvoyee par les matieres premieres : reliefs cristallins pour le renne, plateaux basaltiques pour les equides, falaises pour le bouquetin, vallees boisees pour le cerf et le chevreuil. Les secteurs parcourus par les occupants des deux sites ne montrent pas veritablement de difference significative de comportement, tant pour l'approvisionnement en matieres premieres que pour la chasse ou le charognage des grands mammiferes et les differences paraissent plus dependre du contexte geologique et topographique. La maniere d'exploiter un “ territoire ” par les occupants des deux sites obeirait donc sensiblement aux memes regles au cours des stades isotopiques 7 et 6.
Le condizioni ambientali che accompagnarono la colonizzazione antropica tardoglaciale iniziarono ... more Le condizioni ambientali che accompagnarono la colonizzazione antropica tardoglaciale iniziarono a delinearsi con la deglaciazione würmiana, un processo scandito cronologicamente dalle date radiocarbonio (14.765±135 e 14.370±115 B.P.) dei larici del bacino di Revine. A questa fase, che vede l’impostazione di un ambiente a parco nelle sedi occupate dai rami periferici del ghiacciaio del Piave durante l’Ultimo Massimo Glaciale, appartengono le prime attestazioni di occupazione dei margini prealpini da parte degli epigravettiani. Il Riparo Tagliente, a 250 m di quota sul fondo della Valpantena nei Monti Lessini, presenta i tratti salienti di sito a frequentazione ripetuta, in un ambiente aperto dove stambecchi e bovidi costituivano le specie predominanti nell’economia di caccia
Cetacean mass strandings occur regularly worldwide, yet the compounded effects of natural and ant... more Cetacean mass strandings occur regularly worldwide, yet the compounded effects of natural and anthropogenic factors often complicate our understanding of these phenomena. Evidence of past stranding episodes may, thus, be essential to establish the potential influence of climate change. Investigations on bones from the site of Grotta dell'Uzzo in North West Sicily (Italy) show that the rapid climate change around 8,200 years ago coincided with increased strandings in the Mediterranean Sea. Stable isotope analyses on collagen from a large sample of remains recovered at this cave indicate that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers relied little on marine resources. A human and a red fox dating to the 8.2-kyr-BP climatic event, however, acquired at least one third of their protein from cetaceans. Numerous carcasses should have been available annually, for at least a decade, to obtain these proportions of meat. Our findings imply that climate-driven environmental changes, caused by global warming, may represent a serious threat to cetaceans in the near future. The consequences of anthropogenic climate change for cetaceans are difficult to predict. It has been postulated that long-term changes in physical oceanography, induced by ongoing climate change, will affect primary producers and, through knock-on effects, consumers at every level of the food chain and, especially, apex predators such as many marine mammals 1. Studies on different temporal scales show that cycles in cetacean strandings are correlated to anomalies in temperature 2 , wind 3 and continental-scale climate systems 4 , such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). We present data on the repercussions of abrupt early Holocene climate change for cetaceans living in the Mediterranean Sea and on how humans opportunistically adapted to them, through a study on the site of Grotta dell'Uzzo (Fig. 1) in North West Sicily (Italy).
L'abri sous roche Dalmeri se trouve sur le Plateau de Asiago (TN) a 1240 m d'altitude. La... more L'abri sous roche Dalmeri se trouve sur le Plateau de Asiago (TN) a 1240 m d'altitude. La stratigraphie, datee de la fin du Tardiglaciaire wurmien, presente une sequence de niveaux a cailloutis avec un grande nombre de restes fauniques et une industrie lithique abondante. L'abri Dalmeri est un des rares gisements italiens de haute montagne ou les vestiges osseux se sont conserves, On y a chasse le bouquetin, qui represente 90% des restes, et plus rarement le cerf et le chevreuil; on y a aussi identifie la presence du castor, du lievre, du renard, de l'ours, du loup, de la marmotte et du herisson. Les restes osseux sont tres fragmentes. Les facteurs responsables de cette fragmentation sont, outre les agents naturels, les procedures de decoupe, l'extraction de la moelle, l'utilisation de l'os et l'action des carnivores (plusieurs vestiges presentent des traces dues a l'action corrosive des sucs gastriques). De nombreux fragments presentent des traces de racines, de dents de carnivores et de rongeurs ainsi que des stries caracteristiques de l'action d'un instrument lithique sur la surface de l'os.
Seven Vindija (Croatia) Neandertal teeth, dated about 32,000 years ago, were analyzed to determin... more Seven Vindija (Croatia) Neandertal teeth, dated about 32,000 years ago, were analyzed to determine patterning of scratches on the anterior teeth. Oblique scratches exclusively on the labial faces of incisors and canines represent a distinctive pattern, characteristic of hand directed, non-masticatory activities. At Vindija and elsewhere these scratches reveal activities, which were performed primarily with the right hand. The late Neandertals from Vindija, combined with other studies, show that European Neandertals were predominately right-handed with a ratio 15:2 (88.2%), a frequency similar to living people. Studies of teeth from Atapuerca extend this modern ratio to more than 500,000 years ago and increase the frequency of right- handers in the European fossil record to almost 94%. Species-wide, preferential right-handedness is a defining feature of modern Homo sapiens, tied to brain laterality and language with the 9:1 ratio of right- to left- handers - a reflection of the link between left hemispheric dominance and language. Up-to-date behavioral and anatomical studies of Neandertal fossils and the recent discovery of their possession of the FOXP2 gene indicate Neandertals (and, very likely, their European ancestors) had linguistic capacities similar to living humans.
Labial striations on the anterior teeth have been documented in numerous European pre-Neandertal ... more Labial striations on the anterior teeth have been documented in numerous European pre-Neandertal and Neandertal fossils and serve as evidence for handedness. OH-65, dated at 1.8 mya, shows a concentration of oblique striations on, especially, the left I(1) and right I(1), I(2) and C(1), which signal that it was right-handed. From these patterns we contend that OH-65 was habitually using the right hand, over the left, in manipulating objects during some kind of oral processing. In living humans right-handedness is generally correlated with brain lateralization, although the strength of the association is questioned by some. We propose that as more specimens are found, right-handedness, as seen in living Homo, will most probably be typical of these early hominins.
Abstract Riparo Dalmeri is an Epigravettian high altitude rock shelter, seasonally occupied for s... more Abstract Riparo Dalmeri is an Epigravettian high altitude rock shelter, seasonally occupied for specialized ibex hunting. Its occupation pattern indicates the mobility of human groups from the lowlands to the mountains, in order to exploit a territory which is inaccessible during the winter. This work presents the results of the taphonomic study carried out on the bird bone assemblages from Riparo Dalmeri, where birds play a secondary role as an economic resource, when compared to the intense seasonal exploitation of ibex. Despite its small size, the bird bone assemblage still provides valuable ecological information as well as information about anthropic traces connected with food exploitation and other resources. The most common human modifications detected on the bird bones are those related to butchery: stone tool cut-marks, fresh bone fracture, peeling, crushing, wrenching, and, more rarely, notches or chop-marks. Localized burning traces have also been detected.
In Veneto la Grotta di Fumane continua a riservarci sorprese con reperti ossei che attestano l’us... more In Veneto la Grotta di Fumane continua a riservarci sorprese con reperti ossei che attestano l’uso di penne e unghielli di grandi rapaci come ornamento: una scoperta che cambia il modo di guardare ai nostri lontani cugini neandertaliani Estremamente vivo e ricco di colpi di scena appare il dibattito scientifico sull’Uomo di Neandertal, la sua biologia, la vita sociale, la sussistenza e soprattutto il comportamento simbolico. Un aspetto, quest’ultimo, che marca uno dei picchi di attenzione da parte degli antropologi, in quanto intimamente legato alla scomparsa dei nostri “cugini” tra 50 e 40 mila anni fa: quali sistemi di identificazione adottavano per loro stessi, le proprie famiglie e i membri dei clan, sempre che una qualche struttura sociale ne contemplasse l’esistenza? Gli interrogativi non lasciano dubbi: identificare tra i Neandertal comportamenti etnograficamente “moderni”, cioè più prossimi al modo “sapiens” di pensare e strutturare la società, porta inevitabilmente a interrogarsi sulla loro origine: fu autoctona o il risultato di interazioni con i primi Uomini Anatomicamente Moderni (Homo sapiens) che colonizzarono l’Europa 41-40 mila anni fa? Se, da un lato, il confronto con il DNA fossile neandertaliano rivela le tracce di un flusso genico verso i sapiens euro-asiatici, dall’altro l’archeologia esclude contatti tra le due forme biologiche, sostenendo piuttosto l’emergenza autonoma, da parte dei Neandertal, di certe invenzioni nella scheggiatura della pietra, la lavorazione dell’osso e, appunto, l’impiego di materiali ad uso ornamentale: conchiglie marine e canini di volpe e di orso perforati suggeriscono un’attenzione verso l’adorno del corpo o degli abiti, arricchita dall’impiego di polveri coloranti ricavate dalla triturazione di ossidi di ferro e manganese. […
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