Neanderthal Genome Decoded - "Archaeology", volume 63, number 4, July/August 2010 

For anyone who has ever looked at the hair on their knuckles and wondered if there might be a smidgen of Neanderthal in their genes, the recent publication of the Neanderthal genome provides some important answers. After four years of work, an international research team led by Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has sequenced about 60 percent of the DNA that formed the building blocks of the Neanderthal lineage. The genome will allow scientists to better understand the biology of our closest extinct relatives, and provide a new point of reference for learning how our species, Homo sapiens, evolved. The study shows that Neanderthals are not as extinct as everyone thought. Somewhere between one and four percent of the DNA in people who are ethnically non-African comes from Neanderthals. In other words, they live on in some of us...

An apparent Neanderthal sleeping chamber has just been unearthed within Esquilleu Cave in Cantabria, Spain - The room likely contained grass beds, which served double duty as seats, near a hearth - Other research supports that Neanderthals constructed such functional living spaces within caves and rock shelters. 

The discovery, made completely without digging, suggests that now solitary Stonehenge may have been surrounded by "satellite Stonehenges," archaeologists say. 

Early Pleistocene human occupation at the edge of the boreal zone in northwest Europe - "Nature" 466, pp. 229-233, 8 July 2010

The dispersal of early humans from Africa by 1.75 Myr ago led to a marked expansion of their range, from the island of Flores in the east to the Iberian peninsula in the west1, 2, 3, 4, 5. This range encompassed tropical forest, savannah and Mediterranean habitats, but has hitherto not been demonstrated beyond 45° N. Until recently, early colonization in Europe was thought to be confined to the area south of the Pyrenees and Alps. However, evidence from Pakefield (Suffolk, UK) at ~0.7 Myr indicated that humans occupied northern European latitudes when a Mediterranean-type climate prevailed6. This provided the basis for an ‘ebb and flow’ model, where human populations were thought to survive in southern refugia during cold stages, only expanding northwards during fully temperate climates5. Here we present new evidence from Happisburgh (Norfolk, UK) demonstrating that Early Pleistocene hominins were present in northern Europe >0.78 Myr ago when they were able to survive at the southern edge of the boreal zone. This has significant implications for our understanding of early human behaviour, adaptation and survival, as well as the tempo and mode of colonization after their first dispersal out of Africa.

Recent astronomical observations at Kilmartin Glen, Argyll, Scotland - "Antiquity Bulletin", volume 084, issue 324, june 2010

The Temple Wood and Nether Largie complex stands in the Kilmartin Glen, Argyll, Scotland (Grid Ref. NR 82 97; Lat. 56° 7' Long. 5° 29'; Figure 1). The Temple Wood site (Figure 2) consists of two adjacent stone circles thought to have been built in the fourth millennium BC (RCAHMS 1988, 1999; Scott 1989: 53). However, there is some doubt about this date, (Butter 1999). Radiocarbon dates for the southern circle show that it was used for burial from the middle to late Bronze Age (Scott 1989: 115-7; Sheridan 2008). It is thought that the southern circle was erected after the northern circle (Scott 1989) and it is possible that they were built in the early Bronze Age. The line connecting the centre of the circles forms an axis running NE-SW, and coincides with the alignment of the southern circle's three burial cists. Three of the stones of the Temple Wood southern circle have symbols carved on their outer sides: stone 8 is cupmarked and stone 10 has a double spiral (Figure 3), while stone 12 has faint concentric circles.

The Late Pleistocene Flores fauna shows a pattern observed on many other islands. It is neither aberrant nor exclusive, but the result of non-random selective forces acting upon an impoverished and disharmonic insular fauna. By comparing the Flores vertebrate fauna with other fossil insular biotas, it is apparent that the evolution of Homo floresiensis is part of a general pattern affecting all the inhabitants of Pleistocene Flores. Vertebrate evolution on Flores appears to have been characterized by phylogenetic continuity, low species richness and a disharmonic fauna. All three aspects stem from the isolated position of the island and have resulted in the distinct morphological characteristics of the Flores fauna. Evidence reviewed herein shows that features exhibited by H. floresiensis, such as small stature, a small brain, relatively long arms, robust lower limbs and long feet, are not unique, but are shared by other insular taxa. Therefore, the evolution of H. floresiensis can be explained by existing models of insular evolution and followed evolutionary pathways similar to those of the other terrestrial vertebrates inhabiting Pleistocene Flores.

· Ritrovato in Etiopia il "nonno" di Lucy

Progetto Marsiliana d’Albegna: II° campo internazionale di ricerca archeologica

30 agosto 2010 - 30 ottobre 2010

Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni - Isernia) - Isernia La Pineta (Isernia) - Riparo Tagliente (Verona) - Grotta di Fumane (Verona)

Neanderthals, Humans Interbred - First Solid DNA Evidence - 6 maggio 2010

The next time you're tempted to call some oaf a Neanderthal, you might want to take a look in the mirror. According to a new DNA study, most humans have a little Neanderthal in them—at least 1 to 4 percent of a person's genetic makeup.

A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal Genome - "Science" 7 May 2010: Vol. 328. no. 5979, pp. 710 - 722

Neandertals, the closest evolutionary relatives of present-day humans, lived in large parts of Europe and western Asia before disappearing 30,000 years ago. We present a draft sequence of the Neandertal genome composed of more than 4 billion nucleotides from three individuals. Comparisons of the Neandertal genome to the genomes of five present-day humans from different parts of the world identify a number of genomic regions that may have been affected by positive selection in ancestral modern humans, including genes involved in metabolism and in cognitive and skeletal development. We show that Neandertals shared more genetic variants with present-day humans in Eurasia than with present-day humans in sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that gene flow from Neandertals into the ancestors of non-Africans occurred before the divergence of Eurasian groups from each other. 

A Comparison of Y-Chromosome Variation in Sardinia and Anatolia is More Consistent with Cultural Rather than Demic Diffusion of Agriculture - 29 aprile 2010

Two alternative models have been proposed to explain the spread of agriculture in Europe during the Neolithic period. The demic diffusion model postulates the spreading of farmers from the Middle East along a Southeast to Northeast axis. Conversely, the cultural diffusion model assumes transmission of agricultural techniques without substantial movements of people. Support for the demic model derives largely from the observation of frequency gradients among some genetic variants, in particular haplogroups defined by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Y-chromosome. A recent network analysis of the R-M269 Y chromosome lineage has purportedly corroborated Neolithic expansion from Anatolia, the site of diffusion of agriculture. However, the data are still controversial and the analyses so far performed are prone to a number of biases. In the present study we show that the addition of a single marker, DYSA7.2, dramatically changes the shape of the R-M269 network into a topology showing a clear Western-Eastern dichotomy not consistent with a radial diffusion of people from the Middle East. We have also assessed other Y-chromosome haplogroups proposed to be markers of the Neolithic diffusion of farmers and compared their intra-lineage variation—defined by short tandem repeats (STRs)—in Anatolia and in Sardinia, the only Western population where these lineages are present at appreciable frequencies and where there is substantial archaeological and genetic evidence of pre-Neolithic human occupation. The data indicate that Sardinia does not contain a subset of the variability present in Anatolia and that the shared variability between these populations is best explained by an earlier, pre-Neolithic dispersal of haplogroups from a common ancestral gene pool. Overall, these results are consistent with the cultural diffusion and do not support the demic model of agriculture diffusion.

(The date and context of a stone row:Cut Hill, Dartmoor, south-west England, Antiquity v. 84, n. 323, p 55–70)

Nine megaliths in England share similar construction and alignment with Stonehenge. These monuments all mark the rising of the midsummer sun and the setting of midwinter sun. Burials and food remains found nearby suggest death-related rituals may have been held at the standing stones. 

Maggio-Agosto 2010

Una rivista dedicata alla tecnologia applicata ai beni culturali

Marsiliana (Grosseto), 30 maggio - 27 giugno 2010 (English version)

Paleoanthropologists used sophisticated research methods to form 27 model heads from tiny bone fragments

· Australopithecus sediba, specie di transizione
· Scoperta un'antica specie di Homo vissuta in Siberia
· Una camminata elegante per "Lucy"

· "Sul Monte Cetona alla ricerca dell'uomo" (Museo civico per la Preistoria del monte Cetona, il Parco archeologico naturalistico di   Belvedere, l'Archeodromo)
· Recensione del libro "Preistoria", a cura di Piero Pruneti

Pau (Oristano) 

· Il vantaggio di poggiare i talloni
· 37.000 anni fa gli ultimi neandertaliani
· Antichi europei: il fascino degli immigrati agricoltori
· Il pensiero simbolico dei Neandertal

Cartografia storica di Roma

L'Archivio di Stato di Roma, l'Università di Roma Tre, la Fondazione Cariplo e la Soprintendenza ai Beni Culturali del Comune di Roma hanno realizzato un web-gis che permette la consultazione del Catasto Gregoriano (1818-24) di Roma e altre fonti di cartografia storica.

Ancona - Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche, 27 novembre 2009 – 30 marzo 2010

Gli archeologi le hanno definite convenzionalmente “Veneri”, con l’antico nome della dea romana della bellezza e dell’amore, ma l’interpretazione delle statuette femminili preistoriche è in realtà molto più complessa. Lo straordinario ritrovamento della statuetta di una Venere del Paleolitico superiore a Frasassi, ha offerto lo spunto per offrire una riflessione su questo affascinante tema e presentare in questa esposizione, realizzata dalla Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici delle Marche con il contributo del Consorzio Grotte di Frasassi e di iGuzzini illuminazione, altre piccole sculture emerse da varie località delle Marche e conservate presso il Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche di Ancona. Queste testimonianze di arte preistorica definita “mobiliare”, ossia espressa da opere di piccole dimensioni ricavate da pietre, ciottoli, ossa scolpite o incise, e comunque ’mobili’, sono riferibili a un lungo arco cronologico, che documenta nella nostra regione un’attività artistica dal Paleolitico Superiore (circa 25.000 anni fa) fino al Neolitico (circa 6.000 anni fa). La Venere di Frasassi rientra, per lo stile e per le proporzioni, nel novero delle „Veneri paleolitiche“ e va ad arricchire il repertorio delle figurette femminili che si possono definire naturalistiche e che in Italia contano, oltre alla Venere di Frasassi, altri dieci esemplari provenienti da siti, per lo più grotte. La preminenza delle figure femminili rispetto a quelle maschili nell’arte dei cacciatori-raccoglitori paleolitici lascia intravedere un ruolo di spicco della donna nella cosmologia e nei rituali, forse in relazione alla sua funzione riproduttiva. Accanto alla Venere da Frasassi, realizzata su stalattite, è presente in mostra la Venere di Tolentino, incisa su un ciottolo utilizzato come percussore (si vedano le tracce di impatto ad entrambe le estremità), che è attribuibile al tardo Paleolitico superiore. In quest’epoca il mondo dei cacciatori-raccoglitori, giunto al suo apogeo, sta subendo dei cambiamenti irreversibili, in parte legati a nuovi assetti ecologici, di cui questa misteriosa immagine potrebbe costituire un riflesso. Sul piano figurativo conserva tuttavia delle tradizioni ben radicate, che esprimono una profonda sintonia con la natura e in particolare con il mondo animale. Le altre statuette esposte in mostra appartenenti al Neolitico, la Venere di Fano e gli idoletti in terracotta da Ripabianca di Monterado, documentano che la variabilità delle raffigurazioni neolitiche femminili è maggiore rispetto a quella dei periodi precedenti. Del tutto nuova, nel Neolitico, appare anche l’associazione a contesti rituali come sepolture o strutture templari, che segna un esplicito riferimento ad una simbologia di tipo “religioso”. Il posto della donna nella società è evidentemente cambiato, in relazione all’affermarsi dell’economia produttiva, in cui la famiglia riveste un ruolo centrale come garante della continuità del processo produttivo. 

· "Coltivatori e allevatori d'Abruzzo" (Il Neolitico della Cultura di Catignano: i siti di Catignano e Colle Cera)
· "Grotta santuario. Ritorno a Ostuni" (La grotta di  Santa Maria d'Agnano)