Margherita Micheletti Cremasco, Giuseppe D'Amore, Vitale Stefano Sparacello, Margherita Mussi, Manon Galland, Antonio Profico, Melchiorre Masali, Sylvia Di Marco, Roberto Micciché, Martin Friess, Luca Sineo
In two publications from 1967 and 1971, M. Masali described human skeletal remains presumed to have been found in the Balzi Rossi caves (Ventimiglia, Italy), based on a signed note dated to 1908. Since then, the remains - dubbed "Conio's Finds" and preserved at the University of Torino - had not been further studied. We performed a multidisciplinary investigation aimed at clarifying the geographical and chronological attribution of these specimens. Collagen extraction for AMS dating was unsuccessful, but we obtained two direct dates on the best- preserved crania via 231Pa/235U direct gamma-ray spectrometry (10,500±2,000 years BP and 12,500±2,500 years BP)...
December 10, 2021: Journal of Anthropological Sciences : JASS