Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 9, 2025
07:57
Sampling and Pretreatment of Tooth Enamel Carbonate for Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis
Published on: August 15, 2018
14.5K
A late Neanderthal tooth from northeastern Italy
Matteo Romandini1, Gregorio Oxilia1, Eugenio Bortolini1
1Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via Degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy.
Journal of Human Evolution
|September 5, 2020
Summary
A Neanderthal child
Area of Science:
- Paleoanthropology
- Paleolithic Archaeology
- Human Evolution
Background:
- Riparo Broion site documents Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Italy.
- Late Mousterian layers yield significant archaeological findings.
- First human fossil from Riparo Broion discovered in 2018.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive taxonomic assessment of the Riparo Broion 1 fossil.
- To analyze the morphology and enamel thickness of the deciduous canine.
- To determine the genetic affiliation and age of the specimen.
Main Methods:
- Classic and virtual morphology analysis.
- 2D and 3D enamel thickness topography.
- Mitochondrial DNA sequencing and radiocarbon dating.
Main Results:
- The tooth is identified as a right upper deciduous canine from a Neanderthal child.
- Morphology and enamel distribution support Neanderthal attribution.
- DNA analysis aligns with Late Pleistocene Neanderthal genetic variation.
- Radiocarbon dating suggests a minimum age of approximately 48,000 years BP.
Conclusions:
- Provides direct evidence of late Neanderthal occupation in northern Italy.
- The findings precede the Uluzzian cultural shift at Riparo Broion.
- Contributes to the limited sample of fossil remains and deciduous canines from Italy.
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