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 Imprints found in the cave allowed analysis of ancient human behavior

14,000-year-old Footprints in Italian Cave Reveal Ancient Human Behavior

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Evidence of crawling in an Italian cave system sheds new light on late Stone Age human behavior in groups, especially when exploring new grounds, says a study published today in eLife.

The Discovery of Ancient Human Crawling

The cave of Bàsura at Toirano and its human and animal fossil traces have been known since the 1950s, with the first studies conducted by Italian archaeologist Virginia Chiappella. In the current study, promoted by the Archaeological Heritage Office of Liguria, researchers from Italy, Argentina, and South Africa used multiple approaches to analyze the human traces and identified for the first time crawling behaviors from around 14,000 years ago.

The corridor — known as Corridoio delle Impronte — within the cave where the researchers analyzed some of the prints of ancient humans.

The corridor — known as Corridoio delle Impronte — within the cave where the researchers analyzed some of the prints of ancient humans. (Isabella Salvador/ Fair Use)

"In our study, we wanted to see how ancient humans explored this fascinating cave system," says first author Marco Romano, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. "Specifically, we set out to discover how many people entered the cave, whether they explored as individuals or as a group, their age, gender and what kind of route they took once inside the cave."

Insights Into Ancient Human Behavior

To answer these questions, the multidisciplinary team studied 180 tracks from within the cave, including foot and handprints on the clay-rich floor. They applied various modern dating methods, software that analyses the structure of the tracks, and different types of 3D modeling.
"Together, these approaches allowed us to construct a narrative of how the humans entered and exited the cave, and their activities once they were inside," Romano explains.

Researchers found a total of 180 ancient human footprints and traces that were made about 14,000 years ago in a cave in northern Italy. Shown here are three of the footprints, made on different surfaces within the cave

Researchers found a total of 180 ancient human footprints and traces that were made about 14,000 years ago in a cave in northern Italy. Shown here are three of the footprints, made on different surfaces within the cave. (Marco Avanzini / Fair Use)

The team determined that five individuals, including two adults, an adolescent of about 11 years old, and two children of three and six years old, entered the cave barefoot and illuminated the way using wooden sticks. This suggests that young children were active group members during the late Stone Age, even when carrying out apparently dangerous activities.

The researchers reported the first evidence of crawling in footprints from a low tunnel - a route that was taken to access the inner part of the cave. Anatomical details in the footprints suggest that the explorers went bare-legged as they navigated this pathway.

The ancient humans crawled through a low tunnel of the cave

The ancient humans crawled through a low tunnel of the cave. (Isabella Salvador/ Fair Use)

The Analysis of Ancient Human Behavior

When analyzing the various handprints, the team found that some of them appear 'unintentional' and relate to exploring the cave only, while others are more 'intentional' and suggest that social or symbolic activities took place within the inner chambers. "Hunter-gatherers may therefore have been driven by fun activities during exploration, as well as simply the need to find food," Romano adds.

The ancient human tracks can provide detailed insights on their behavior

The ancient human tracks can provide detailed insights on their behavior. (Isabella Salvador/ Fair Use)

"Together, our results show how a varied approach to studying our ancestors' tracks can provide detailed insights on their behavior," concludes senior author Marco Avanzini, head of the geology department at MUSE -- Trento Museum of Science, Italy.
"We hope our approach will be useful for painting similar pictures of how humans behaved in other parts of the world and during different periods of time."

Top image: Imprints found in the cave allowed analysis of ancient human behavior. Source: Isabella Salvador / Fair Use.

The article, first published under the title, ‘Traces of crawling in Italian cave give clues to ancient humans' social behavior‘ was originally published on Science Daily.

Source: eLife. "Traces of crawling in Italian cave give clues to ancient humans' social behavior." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 May 2019.

References

Romano, M., Citton, P., Salvador, I., Arobba, D., Rellini, I., Firpo, M., Negrino, F., Zunino, M., Starnini, E., Avanzini, M. 2019. “A multidisciplinary approach to a unique Palaeolithic human ichnological record from Italy (Bàsura Cave)”. eLife. [Online] Available at: https://elifesciences.org/articles/45204

 

Comments

Well, of course they were crawling in a low tunnel. Did we expect them to levitate through it?

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