Italian prehistoric promenades: the human fossil sample. From the “earliest European” to the latest Neadertals.

In the last decade we have witnessed in Italy to a considerable increase of the fossil record pertaining to human evolution. A review of the Early-to-Late Pleistocene hominids found so far in Italy includes several fragmentary and more complete skeletal and dental remains, spanning from the earliest evidence of Paleolithic settlements in Europe (in a time span close to 1 million years ago) up to very late Neandertals (around 35 thousand years ago). Particularly significant specimens are the adult calvaria from Ceprano (Lazio) –good candidate, side-byside with the Atapuerca TD6 fossil assemblage (Spain), to represent the ancestry of the diverging lineages that respectively led to Neandertals and modern humans– the virtually complete “pre-Neandertal” skeleton discovered near Altamura (Puglia), the well known early Neandertal crania from Saccopastore (Roma), and more typical Neandertal specimens from various caves of Monte Circeo (Lazio). After about 30 thousand years ago, only skeletal remains of anatomically modern humans are found, spread across the entire peninsula. Even from a general overview, it is noticeable that Italian specimens and samples match the European fossil record in several aspects, providing a significant contribution to our knowledge about the trajectories of human evolution that involved the entire continent.