a b s t r a c tIn 1993, a fossil hominin skeleton was discovered in the karst caves of Lamalunga, near Altamura, in southern Italy. Despite the fact that this specimen represents one of the most extraordinary hominin specimens ever found in Europe, for the last two decades our knowledge of it has been based purely on the documented on-site observations. Recently, the retrieval from the cave of a fragment of bone (part of the right scapula) allowed the first dating of the individual, the quantitative analysis of a diagnostic morphological feature, and a preliminary paleogenetic characterization of this hominin skeleton from Altamura. Overall, the results concur in indicating that it belongs to the hypodigm of Homo neanderthalensis, with some phenetic peculiarities that appear consistent with a chronology ranging from 172 ± 15 ka to 130.1 ± 1.9 ka. Thus, the skeleton from Altamura represents the most ancient Neanderthal from which endogenous DNA has ever been extracted.

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This paper presents the experience of both interdisciplinary and sustainable implementation of an educational construction site for the recovery of the architectural heritage in Central America. Rey Prendes House is representative of one hundred and forty-five houses made of wood, stamped steel sheet, and deployé that are located in the historical center of San Salvador. Its origin is linked to historical events, such as the strong migration of foreigners to El Salvador in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the presidential decrees that encouraged the reconstruction of the city with anti-seismic materials as a result of the earthquakes of 1873 and 1917. More recently, since 2017, Rey Prendes House has been included in the project funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. In this paper, the phases of the survey are documented with both materials and degradation analyses, the new design construction with BIM technology for the organization of the educational construction site, the creation of offices and laboratories for restoration and treatments of timber and metal details. Moreover, the study provides a contextual framework with the aim of describing the policies and the projects implemented, highlighting the adopted strategies, the results achieved, and outlining the path followed towards the design solutions for sustainable rehabilitation relating to future use.

A simple and effective method for imaging through ground-level atmospheric turbulence.