She must not have lacked strength and strong temperament, also because the wild life under the threat of ferocious animals marked all her time. But it was
'Extraordinary': Fossils of nine Neanderthals unearthed in Italy cave
Nathan Howes
Monday, May 10th 2021, 6:25 pm - The date of one of the fossils can be traced as far back as 90,000 to 100,000 years ago, and the remaining pieces are thought to be 50,000 to 68,000 years old, according to Italy's cultural ministry.
The unravelling of nine Neanderthal fossils is being hailed as a significant discovery that the "whole world will talk about."
That's according to Italy's Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, who made the remarks in a news release with the agency's announcement Saturday. The fossils were unearthed in the Guattari Cave in San Felice Circeo, about 88 kilometres southeast of Rome, Italy.
Extraordinary Fossils Of 9 Neanderthals Found In Cave Near Rome
One Italian official boasted the discovery will be the “talk of the world.”
Archeologists have unearthed fossils from nine Neanderthals in a cave outside Rome that an Italian official boasted will be the “talk of the world.”
The oldest remains date back some 100,000 years. Fossils of the other eight Neanderthals date to between 50,000 to 68,000 years ago, the Italian Culture Ministry announced Saturday.
#NEANDERTHAL / New discoveries in the Guattari Cave (Italy) place the Circeo area among the most important ones in the world about the knowledge of our ancestors: new research bring to light fossil finds which are attributable to 9 Neanderthal individuals. https://t.co/A3wGRwznEGpic.twitter.com/4iSJlVp0eH— Ministero della cultura (@MiC_Italia) May 8, 2021
Emanuele Antonio Minerva/AP
The Italian Culture Ministry announced the discovery on Saturday (local time), saying it confirmed that the Guattari Cave in San Felice Circeo, where a Neanderthal skull was discovered in 1939, was “one of the most significant places in the world for the history of Neanderthals”. The excavations, begun in 2019, involved a part of the cave that hadn’t yet been explored, including a lake first noted by the anthropologist Alberto Carlo Blanc, who is credited with the 1939 Neanderthal skull discovery. Culture Minister Dario Franceschini called the finding “an extraordinary discovery that will be the talk of the world”.
Archaeologists discover remains of Neanderthal in Rome
The discoveries were made near the Tyrrhenian Sea’s coast at the Guattari Cave.
Skulls, skull fragments, two teeth, and a bone fragment are among the remains found.
Archaeologists also discovered animal bones, including those of an aurochs, an extinct bovine.
The oldest remains date from 100,000 to 90,000 years ago, while the other eight Neanderthals are thought to have lived between 50,000 and 68,000 years ago, according to the Culture Ministry.
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‘They are all adults, with the exception of one who may have been in his early teens,’ Francesco Di Mario, the head of the Grotta Guattari excavation said.
>>Elisabetta Povoledo, The New York Times
Published: 09 May 2021 12:52 PM BdST
Updated: 09 May 2021 12:52 PM BdST A photo provided by Emanuele Antonio Minerva/Italian Ministry of Culture shows the Guattari Cave in San Felice Circeo, south of Rome. One of the Neanderthals found in the cave lived about 100,000 to 90,000 years ago, and the other eight have been dated to to around 65,000 to 50,000 years ago. The New York Times
When a Neanderthal skull was discovered in a cave on the property of a beachfront hotel south of Rome in 1939, it prompted a theory, since debunked, that Neanderthals had engaged in ritual cannibalism, extracting the brains of their victims to eat.
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