New human remains from the Late Epigravettian necropolis of Arene Candide (Liguria, northwestern Italy): Direct radiocarbon evidence and inferences on the funerary use of the cave during the Younger Dryas

Sparacello, Vitale; Dori, Irene; Rossi, Stefano; Varalli, Alessandra; Riel‐Salvatore, Julien; Gravel-Miguel, Claudine; Riga, Alessandro; Seghi, Francesca; Goude, Gwenaëlle; Palstra, Sanne W.L.; Starnini, Elisabetta; Formicola, Vincenzo; Moggi‐Cecchi, Jacopo

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107131

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…It also includes pre‐industrial populations including 6th–11th century Nubian Egyptians ( n = 4), 19th century Tierra del Fuego ( n = 3), an indigenous Inuit from Greenland and two Aboriginal Australians. We also included in our H. sapiens sample several fossil H. sapiens including Qafzeh 8 and 9 ( n = 2 individuals, 80–130 Ka, Qafzeh, Israel; Niewoehner, 2001 ), Ohalo II H2 ( n = 1, 19 Ka, Sea of Galilee, Israel; Hershkovitz et al, 1995 ), Barma Grande ( n = 1, 15–17 Ka, Ventimiglia, Italy; Churchill & Formicola, 1997 ), Arene Candide ( n = 1, 12–11 Ka, Liguria, Italy; Sparacello et al, 2021 ) and Dolní Věstonice ( n = 4, 31 Ka, Dolní Věstonice, Czech Republic; Fewlass et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cortical bone distribution of the proximal phalanges in great apes: implications for reconstructing manual behaviours

et al. 2023

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Primate fingers are typically in direct contact with the environment during both locomotion and manipulation, and aspects of external phalangeal morphology are known to reflect differences in hand use. Since bone is a living tissue that can adapt in response to loading through life, the internal bone architecture of the manual phalanges should also reflect differences in manual behaviours. Here, we use the R package Morphomap to analyse high‐resolution microCT scans of hominid proximal phalanges of digits 2–5 to determine whether cortical bone structure reflects variation in manual behaviours between bipedal (Homo), knuckle‐walking (Gorilla, Pan) and suspensory (Pongo) taxa. We test the hypothesis that relative cortical bone distribution patterns and cross‐sectional geometric properties will differ both among extant great apes and across the four digits due to locomotor and postural differences. Results indicate that cortical bone structure reflects the varied hand postures employed by each taxon. The phalangeal cortices of Pongo are significantly thinner and have weaker cross‐sectional properties relative to the African apes, yet thick cortical bone under their flexor sheath ridges corresponds with predicted loading during flexed finger grips. Knuckle‐walking African apes have even thicker cortical bone under the flexor sheath ridges, as well as in the region proximal to the trochlea, but Pan also has thicker diaphyseal cortices than Gorilla. Humans display a distinct pattern of distodorsal thickening, as well as relatively thin cortices, which may reflect the lack of phalangeal curvature combined with frequent use of flexed fingered hand grips during manipulation. Within each taxon, digits 2–5 have a similar cortical distribution in Pongo, Gorilla and, unexpectedly, Homo, which suggest similar loading of all fingers during habitual locomotion or hand use. In Pan, however, cortical thickness differs between the fingers, potentially reflecting differential loading during knuckle‐walking. Inter‐ and intra‐generic variation in phalangeal cortical bone structure reflects differences in manual behaviours, offering a comparative framework for reconstructing hand use in fossil hominins.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cortical bone distribution of the proximal phalanges in great apes: implications for reconstructing manual behaviours

et al. 2023

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“…Liguria is a mountainous coastal region in northwestern Italy and one the of the most important regions in Europe for our understanding of terminal Pleistocene human paleobiology, with numerous Upper Paleolithic burials unearthed from several renowned sites such as the Balzi Rossi and Arene Candide caves 22 – 25 . The Ligurian region is also paramount for the study of the Neolithization of the western Mediterranean, with several caves in the Finalese area (e.g., Arene Candide Cave, Arma Pollera, Arma dell’Aquila) yielding dozens of burials dated to its earliest colonization by agropastoralists 26 , 27 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper, we report and analyze newly identified Mesolithic human remains, including a burial, from Arma di Nasino (Pennavaira Valley, province of Savona) located in western Liguria, about 4 km west of Arma Veirana. Rather than originating from new excavations, this discovery derives from a re-assessment of previously excavated collections: the remains were previously attributed to the Neolithic (see below), but an early Holocene date was obtained in the context of a recent large-scale campaign of radiocarbon dating on the Ligurian prehistoric skeletal collections 25 – 27 . Given the importance of these remains for our understanding of the Early Mesolithic occupation of Liguria, we performed further radiocarbon determinations, analyzed the isotopic composition, and contextualized the osteobiography of the Nasino individuals, including activity patterns and pathological conditions, within our current understanding of human biocultural adaptations at that time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human remains from Arma di Nasino (Liguria) provide novel insights into the paleoecology of early Holocene foragers in northwestern Italy

Sparacello,

Goude,

Varalli

et al. 2023

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We report the discovery and analysis of new Mesolithic human remains—dated to ca. 10,200–9000 cal. BP—from Arma di Nasino in Liguria, northwestern Italy, an area rich in Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic attestations, but for which little information on Early Holocene occupation was available. The multi-proxy isotopic profile of the two individuals reveals that—despite the proximity of the site to the Mediterranean seashore and the use of shellfish as decorative elements in burials—the ecology of these foragers was based on the exploitation of high-altitude resources, presumably in the nearby western Alps. This constitutes the first direct evidence in northwestern Italy of a significant ecological shift towards higher altitudes following deglaciation, especially when compared to isotopic data of the Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers from the nearby site of Arene Candide Cave, who exploited terrestrial resources nearer to the coast and at lower altitudes. While the biochemistry of Nasino’s skeletal assemblage revealed new details on Early Holocene lifeways in the area, the osteobiography of one individual offers glimpses into the life experience of a specific female forager, depicting a scenario of early skeletal trauma, developmental disturbances, long-term impairments, and resilience amongst the last European hunter-gatherers.

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“…The recent human sample derives from spatio‐temporally diverse populations (Chirchir et al, 2015; Stephens et al, 2018) (Supplementary Table 1). We also included three fossil H. sapiens from Late Pleistocene populations: Arene Candide 2 from 12 to 11 ka (Sparacello et al, 2018) and Barma Grande 2 from 17 to 15 ka (Formicola et al, 2004), both recovered in Western Liguria, Italy, as well as Ohalo 2 from 19 ka in Israel (Hershkovitz et al, 1995). Finally, the fossil hominin capitate sample includes three Neandertals from Israel: Tabun C1, 143 ± 37 ka (Coppa et al, 2005), Amud 1, 70–50 ka (Valladas et al, 1999), and Kebara 2, 60–50 ka (Schwarcz et al, 1989); two H. floresiensis (LB1‐45 and LB20, both from Flores, Indonesia); one H. naledi (U.W.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trabecular bone structure of the proximal capitate in extant hominids and fossil hominins with implications for midcarpal joint loading and the dart‐thrower's motion

Bird

Kivell

Dunmore

et al. 2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesThis research examines whether the distribution of trabecular bone in the proximal capitates of extant hominids, as well as several fossil hominin taxa, is associated with the oblique path of the midcarpal joint known as the dart‐thrower's motion (DTM).Materials and MethodsWe analyzed proximal capitates from extant (Pongo n = 12; Gorilla n = 11; Pan n = 10; fossil and recent Homo sapiens n = 29) and extinct (Australopithecus sediba n = 2; Homo naledi n = 1; Homo floresiensis n = 2; Neandertals n = 3) hominids using a new canonical holistic morphometric analysis, which quantifies and visualizes the distribution of trabecular bone using relative bone volume as a fraction of total volume (rBV/TV).ResultsHomo sapiens and Neandertals had a continuous band of high rBV/TV that extended across the scaphoid, lunate, and hamate subarticular regions, but other fossil hominins and extant great apes did not. A. sediba expressed a distinct combination of human‐like and Pan‐like rBV/TV distribution. Both H. floresiensis and H. naledi had high rBV/TV on the ulnar‐side of the capitate but low rBV/TV on the radial‐side.ConclusionThe proximal capitates of H. sapiens and Neandertals share a distinctive distribution of trabecular bone that suggests that these two species of Homo regularly load(ed) their midcarpal joints along the full extent of the oblique path of the DTM. The observed pattern in A. sediba suggests that human‐like stress at the capito‐scaphoid articular surface was combined with Pan‐like wrist postures, whereas the patterns in H. floresiensis and H. naledi suggest their midcarpal joints were loaded differently from that of H. sapiens and Neandertals.

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New human remains from the Late Epigravettian necropolis of Arene Candide (Liguria, northwestern Italy): Direct radiocarbon evidence and inferences on the funerary use of the cave during the Younger Dryas

Cited by 14 publications

References 46 publications

Cortical bone distribution of the proximal phalanges in great apes: implications for reconstructing manual behaviours

Cortical bone distribution of the proximal phalanges in great apes: implications for reconstructing manual behaviours

Human remains from Arma di Nasino (Liguria) provide novel insights into the paleoecology of early Holocene foragers in northwestern Italy

Trabecular bone structure of the proximal capitate in extant hominids and fossil hominins with implications for midcarpal joint loading and the dart‐thrower's motion

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