Unravelling the functional biomechanics of dental features and tooth wear

Most of the morphological features recognized in hominin teeth, particularly the topography of the occlusal surface, are generally interpreted as an evolutionary functional adaptation for mechanical food processing. In this respect, we can also expect that the general architecture of a tooth reflects a response to withstand the high stresses produced during masticatory loadings. Here we use an engineering approach, finite element analysis (FEA), with an advanced loading concept derived from individual occlusal wear information to evaluate whether some dental traits usually found in hominin and extant great ape molars, such as the trigonid crest, the entoconid-hypoconulid crest and the protostylid have important biomechanical implications. For this purpose, FEA was applied to 3D digital models of three Gorilla gorilla lower second molars (M2) differing in wear stages. Our results show that in unworn and slightly worn M2s tensile stresses concentrate in the grooves of the occlusal surface. In such condition, the trigonid and the entoconid-hypoconulid crests act to reinforce the crown locally against stresses produced along the mesiodistal groove. Similarly, the protostylid is shaped like a buttress to suffer the high tensile stresses concentrated in the deep buccal groove. These dental traits are less functional in the worn M2, because tensile stresses decrease physiologically in the crown with progressing wear due to the enlargement of antagonistic contact areas and changes in loading direction from oblique to nearly parallel direction to the dental axis. This suggests that the wear process might have a crucial influence in the evolution and structural adaptation of molars enabling to endure bite stresses and reduce tooth failure throughout the lifetime of an individual

Molar macrowear reveals Neanderthal eco-geographic dietary variation

Neanderthal diets are reported to be based mainly on the consumption of large and medium sized herbivores, while the exploitation of other food types including plants has also been demonstrated. Though some studies conclude that early Homo sapiens were active hunters, the analyses of faunal assemblages, stone tool technologies and stable isotopic studies indicate that they exploited broader dietary resources than Neanderthals. Whereas previous studies assume taxon-specific dietary specializations, we suggest here that the diet of both Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens is determined by ecological conditions. We analyzed molar wear patterns using occlusal fingerprint analysis derived from optical 3D topometry. Molar macrowear accumulates during the lifespan of an individual and thus reflects diet over long periods. Neanderthal and early Homo sapiens maxillary molar macrowear indicates strong eco-geographic dietary variation independent of taxonomic affinities. Based on comparisons with modern hunter-gatherer populations with known diets, Neanderthals as well as early Homo sapiens show high dietary variability in Mediterranean evergreen habitats but a more restricted diet in upper latitude steppe/coniferous forest environments, suggesting a significant consumption of high protein meat resources

The Uluzzian in the north of Italy: insights around the new evidence at Riparo Broion

In attempt to enlighten the debate on the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, this work contributes new data from a yet unpublished site, Riparo Broion in the north-east of Italy. Studies confirm the presence of the Uluzzian technocomplex embedded in an archaeological sequence which includes Mousterian, Gravettian and Epigravettian. These layers have yielded finds of bone and lithic technology, shell beads, engraved portable art and the use of red mineral pigments, which make this archive a unique case for evaluating the implications of cultural dynamics in Northern Italy 44.0\u201342.4 ky BP. The diversity of the faunal assemblage recovered in layers 1f and 1g is representative of the different environments surrounding the site, with ungulates being targeted for hunting and consumption. The lithic assemblage records a high fragmentation rate due to the extensive use of the bipolar knapping technique, responsible for a large variety of splintered pieces and associated chips which also affected the backed pieces, lunates and end-scrapers. The features of the bone tools, as well as those of the marine and freshwater beads, echo the technique used in the Uluzzian in the south of Italy, confirming the geographic spread of this technocomplex in the North Adriatic region, as previously envisaged at Grotta Fumane. However, comparisons between these two sites stimulate a discussion around the possible driving forces responsible for the differences observed in technological, typological and structural lithic assemblages. A definitive scenario for the Middle Palaeolithic\u2013Upper Palaeolithic transition in this region of Southern Europe is ongoing and Riparo Broion is adding key contributions

Image analysis in the morphological and morphometric study of teeth

The subject of this doctoral dissertation concerns the definition of a new methodology for the morphological and morphometric study of fossilized human teeth, and therefore strives to provide a contribution to the reconstruction of human evolutionary history that proposes to extend to the different species of hominid fossils. Standardized investigative methodologies are lacking both regarding the orientation of teeth subject to study and in the analysis that can be carried out on these teeth once they are oriented. The opportunity to standardize a primary analysis methodology is furnished by the study of certain early Neanderthal and preneanderthal molars recovered in two caves in southern Italy [Grotta Taddeo (Taddeo Cave) and Grotta del Poggio (Poggio Cave), near Marina di Camerata, Campania]. To these we can add other molars of Neanderthal and modern man of the upper Paleolithic era, specifically scanned in the paleoanthropology laboratory of the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA), in order to increase the paleoanthropological sample data and thereby make the final results of the analyses more significant. The new analysis methodology is rendered as follows: 1. Standardization of an orientation system for primary molars (superior and inferior), starting from a scan of a sample of 30 molars belonging to modern man (15 M1 inferior and 15 M1 superior), the definition of landmarks, the comparison of various systems and the choice of a system of orientation for each of the two dental typologies. 2. The definition of an analysis procedure that considers only the first 4 millimeters of the dental crown starting from the collar: 5 sections parallel to the plane according to which the tooth has been oriented are carried out, spaced 1 millimeter between them. The intention is to determine a method that allows for the differentiation of fossilized species even in the presence of worn teeth. 3. Results and Conclusions. The new approach to the study of teeth provides a considerable quantity of information that can better be evaluated by increasing the fossil sample data. It has been demonstrated to be a valid tool in evolutionary classification that has allowed (us) to differentiate the Neanderthal sample from that of modern man. In a particular sense the molars of Grotta Taddeo, which up until this point it has not been possible to determine with exactness their species of origin, through the present research they are classified as Neanderthal

Reconstructing the childhood diet of the individuals from the Middle Late Bronze Age Bezdanjača Cave, Croatia (ca. 1430 1290 BCE) using stable C and N isotope analysis of dentin collagen

This paper investigates the childhood diet of 16 individuals from the Middle Late Bronze Age (1430 1290 BCE) Bezdanjača Cave (Lika region, Croatia) using stable isotope analysis of dentin collagen from permanent first molars. Results from the analysis reveal that the individuals from Bezdanjača consumed notable quantities of C4 plants during their childhood. The most common C4 plant is millet, whose spread throughout Southern Europe was recently dated to the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE, which agrees with the results obtained in this research. Comparisons between the data collected for the individuals from Bezdanjača and other Middle and Late Bronze Age sites in Croatia suggest that only the individuals from the site of Veliki Vital (Middle Bronze Age, inland Croatia) exhibit similar isotopic values to those from Bezdanjača. Human isotopic values from coastal sites, however, reveal that during the Middle and Late Bronze Age people from the coast had diet that still predominantly contained C3 plant-based foods, which appears to suggest that the dispersion of this crop in Croatia during the Bronze Age followed an east-west trajectory, appearing earlier (Middle and Late Bronze Age) in inland settlements such as Veliki Vital and Bezdanjača and only later (Late Bronze Age and mostly Iron Age) in coastal sites

Strontium Isotope MC-ICP-MS Analysis of Hair Strands from Human Mummies: Transhumance Pastoralism of Early-Modern Individuals between Northern and Central Italy

Mammal hair is formed by a scleroprotein, namely keratin, composed by some major elements (C, N, H, O, S), but including also trace elements such as Sr, Pb, Fe, K, Na and Ca. The latter are fixed through diet and exposure to exogenous sources, mainly water and air. Given that the average human scalp hair growth is ~1 cm/month, timeresolved hair sampling yields information about a specific period, reflecting the elemental and isotopic composition of the diet and environment at that time. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio of mammal tissues is generally directly correlated to the local bioavailable strontium, providing the chance to reconstruct the individual movements in a given time interval. In this work, we developed our protocol to analyse low-Sr concentration mammal hairs for their 87Sr/86Sr ratio by Neptune MC-ICP-MS. We tested the method on a modern individual who traveled cyclically between Italy and Brazil. Hair strands were sampled with a time resolution of 1 to 2 months, yielding time resolved isotopic variations from the highest radiogenic ratios of the São Paulo area to the lower ones of Modena waters. Thus, the Sr analysis of hair has been applied to human mummies (Roccapelago, Modena, 16th-18th cent.). Hair strands were cut in several sub-samples with different length (time-resolution) in relation to the amount of available material. The best achieved time-resolution was of 3 months in a 12-cm-long strand. These samples revealed cyclical human movements from Roccapelago to the high radiogenic area of the Tuscan Magmatic Province. Historical documents attest a high frequency of human seasonal travels to Tuscany, up to the Grosseto area, likely linked to the exploitation of transhumance pastoralism

Discovery of the grave and identification of the remains of Matteo Maria Boiardo in Saint Mary's church, Scandiano (Reggio Emilia)

According to the documentary information and to the prospectings performed by means of the georadar, beneath the floor of the Church of Santa Maria of Scandiano (RE), it has been possible to locate the sepulchral crypts where the poet Matteo Maria Boiardo and other members of his family, such as his father Giovanni, his grandfather Feltrino and maybe his wife Taddea Gonzaga and one of his sons, Camillo, must have been buried. The exploration of these sepulchral crypts has led to the recovery of the skeletal remains belonging altogether to at least 20 persons (adults and children). Among them, 3 have been discovered into a sepulchral room and the rest into an adjacent tomb. Among the first ones, a person, with the same sex, age of death, sturdiness, height and physical characteristics of the poet Boiardo, has been identified. As confirmation of this probable identity, the genetic profile of this man, got from the nuclear dna sample taken from his body, has come out to be compatible with a possible father/child relationship, this result has been compared to the one gotten from the find found into the adjacent room where the poet's father and grandfather had to be buried. The body of a second person, of female sex and well on in years, with a genetic profile different from the previous ones, could be identified with Boiardo's wife. For what regards the body of the third man, besides it is not possible to exclude that it belongs to Camillo, the poet's son dead when he was very young, it has not been possible yet, to get enough proofs able to confirm this theory

Bears and Humans, a Neanderthal tale. Reconstructing uncommon behaviors from zooarchaeological evidence in Southern Europe

Cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), and Neanderthals were potential competitors for environmental resources (shelters and food) in Europe. In order to reinforce this view and contribute to the ongoing debate on late Neanderthal behavior, we present evidence from zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of bear bone remains discovered at Rio Secco Cave and Fumane Cave in northeast Italy, an extended geographic area north of the Adriatic Sea. The remains from both caves come from layers dated to 49-42 ky cal. BP, and suggest close interactions between humans and bears, with data not only limited to the association of Mousterian lithic artifacts with numerous bear remains, but also the detection of clearly preserved traces of human modification such as cut and percussion marks, which enable a reconstruction of the main steps of fur recovery and the butchering process. Examples of Neanderthal bear exploitation are extremely sporadic in Europe, and Grotta Rio Secco and Grotta Fumane can be considered rare cases of remain accumulations generated by the human predation of bears of varied age classes during or near the end of hibernation. All of this evidence suggests that bears had a strategic role in the nomadic economy of Neanderthal hunting groups

O primeiro povoamento do Homo sapiens na Itália o que sabemos sobre o tecnno-complexo Uluzziano

O Uluzziano é um tecno-complexo que data entre aproximadamente 45.000 a 40.000 anos AP, e está associado ao período em que os Neandertais desaparecem e tem-se o início do sinal arqueológico do Homo sapiens na Europa. Este tecno-complexo foi inicialmente descrito tipologicamente, com base nos materiais encontrados em Grotta del Cavallo (Salento, Puglia, sudeste da Itália). Sua caracterização inicial indicou que apresentava características que geralmente são consideradas típicas do chamado "comportamento moderno", incluindo a presença de substâncias corantes, ferramentas ósseas e ornamentos. Além disso, o Uluzziano representa uma ruptura material brusca em comparação ao tecno-complexo Musteriense, anterior e parcialmente contemporâneo, tanto do ponto de vista tecnológico como de estratégia de caça e subsistência. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar a história da definição deste tecno-complexo, suas características em relação à indústria lítica, indústria óssea, ornamentos, e métodos de subsistência. Serão apresentadas as hipóteses sobre sua origem e seu fim, e sua relevância para o debate sobre a transição do Paleolítico Superior Médio na Europa

Suspected limited mobility of a Middle Pleistocene woman from Southern Italy: strontium isotopes of a human deciduous tooth

We present the Sr isotopic composition of enamel of the most ancient deciduous tooth ever discovered in Italy to assess human mobility in Middle Pleistocene. Reconstructing ancient mobility is crucial for understanding human strategy at exploiting temporally and spatially patchy resources, with most studies focusing on indirect evidences, ultimately affecting our interpretation on hominin territoriality and energetic costs invested by hominin groups. Here, we use the high spatial resolution and micro-destructivity options offered by the Laser Ablation Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry technique, to determine the (87)Sr/ (86)Sr intra-tooth variability of a human deciduous incisor from the Middle Pleistocene layers of the Isernia La Pineta site (Italy). We compared these data with the Sr isotopic signature of local micro-mammals, the broadest home-range of the macro-mammals and with modern plant samples. Our study reveals that while macro-mammals have possibly migrated through the landscape for up to 50\u2009km, the pregnant woman from Isernia was probably local, given that the isotopic ratio of the enamel falls within the local range and is comparable with the signature of the local plants in a radius of 10\u2009km. This is the first case study of Sr isotopic composition determination in such ancient deciduous tooth