Riga Alessandro, Profico Antonio, Mori Tommaso, Frittitta Riccardo, Nava Alessia, Mancini Lucia, Dreossi Diego, Radovčić Davorka, Rice Hannah, Bondioli Luca, Marchi Damiano
Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2024 Mar 12;14(1):6024. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-55045-1.
The peopling of Europe during the Middle Pleistocene is a debated topic among paleoanthropologists. Some authors suggest the coexistence of multiple human lineages in this period, while others propose a single evolving lineage from Homo heidelbergensis to Homo neanderthalensis. The recent reassessment of the stratigraphy at the Sedia del Diavolo (SdD) site (Latium, Italy), now dated to the beginning of marine isotope stage (MIS) 8, calls for a revision of the human fossils from the site. In this paper, we present the morphometric, biomechanical and palaeopathological study of the second right metatarsal SdD2, to both re-evaluate its taxonomical affinities and possibly determine the levels of physical activity experienced by the individual during lifetime. Results demonstrate the persistence of archaic features in SdD2 suggesting new insights into the technology and hunting strategies adopted by Homo between MIS 9 and MIS 8.
中更新世时期欧洲的人类定居情况是古人类学家们争论的话题。一些作者认为这一时期存在多种人类谱系共存,而另一些人则提出从海德堡人到尼安德特人是单一的进化谱系。最近对意大利拉齐奥地区“恶魔座椅”(SdD)遗址地层的重新评估,该遗址现在测定为海洋同位素阶段(MIS)8开始时期,这就需要对该遗址出土的人类化石进行重新审视。在本文中,我们展示了对右侧第二跖骨SdD2的形态测量、生物力学和古病理学研究,以便重新评估其分类学亲缘关系,并有可能确定该个体一生中所经历的身体活动水平。结果表明SdD2中古老特征的持续存在,这为MIS 9和MIS 8之间人类所采用的技术和狩猎策略提供了新的见解。