Giorgio Manzi, * Loretana Salvadei** & Pietro Passarello* * zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Dipartimento di Biologia A nimale P dell’l/omo, Lhiuersiti di Roma “ La Supienzu “. P. le A/do More, 5 00185 Roma. Ita!)? ** .Soprintendenza speciale al hluseo .Va:ionnle, fkrtorico ed Etnograq5co “ Luigi Pigorini” . 1: le Lincoln. I OI44 Roma. Itnh Rrcei\ ed 17 October 1988 Revision received 3 August 1989 and accepted 23 Decemhrr 1989 hyord.r: “archaic flomo sapiens” , parietal morphology, Middle Pleist~,crnr. Casal de’ Pazzi, Central Itah. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA The Casal de’ Pazzi archaic parietal: comparative analysis of new fossil evidence from the late Middle Pleistocene of Rome A fossilized fragment of human parirtal hone has been recentl) recovered from the lowest layer of the Casal de’ Pazzi fluvial deposit (stratigraphicall) dated at about 2OC2.50 ky BP). The fossil presents characters-i.c.. thickness, degree and development of curvature, type or rndocranial vascularization-which distinguish it from the corresponding crarrial regions of both Homo erectus and anatomically modern IIomo sapien.,. LVhilc a morpholo,+cal orientation towards Neanderthal characters ca” be considered, the affinities of the C&al de’ Paxxi parietal aw primaril! \\ith other late Middle Pleistocene specimens. The authors conclude that the Casal de’ PaLzi human find can he assigned to the “archaic f/omo w@ienr” group falling within the European prc-Ncandrrthal range. Its particulat- morphology constitutes nw c~xidrncc of human evolution from l11( geographical area of Rome. Journal offfumnn fhlution (l990) zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTS 19. 751-759 Introduction The ‘l’yrrenian region of central Italy (Latium) offers an extensive record of Palaeolithic deposits ranging over the broad chronological span from the Middle to the Late Pleistocene. Particularly, the fluvial terraces of the lower Aniene valley have been an important source of fossil material, mainly related to the period including the last two Quaternary glaciations (e.g., Segre, 1983; Biddittu et al., 1987). The human remains discovered (for a recent review, see Manzi & Passarello, 1989) are relevant to the evolutionary debate regarding the transition from archaic forms of the genus Homo to modern humans, i.e. to the controversial question of the part (if any) played by the Neanderthals in this process. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCB The .site At the end of 1981, in a site belonging to the middle terrace of the Aniene river, work began on the excavation at Rehibbia-Casal de’ Pazzi, a highly built-up area on the NE outskirts of Rome (Anzidei et al., 1984; Anzidei & Ruffo, 1985; Bietti, 1985; Passarello et al., 1985). The ,geological structure of the deposit derive from the infilling of a cut-off loop of the ancient river course of the Aniene, subsequent to the modeling of the typical local pyroclastic formation (“tufo litoide”). The fluvial and lacustrine sequence reaches up to 6 m in depth and has been stratigraphically assigned to the second half of the Riss, or to about 200-250 ky BP (Anzidei et al., 1984; A. G. Segre, personal communi ation). It is likely that the Casal de’ Pazzi stratigraphy contains, from its fluvial nature, [, e-deposited material and more ancient remains as well. In this regard, a preliminary ale (isoleucine epimerization) obtained from four tooth enamel samples ofBospritnigenius] (aile/ile = 0.12 +/- 0.02 (4); G. Helluomini, unpublished data) gave an estimate of 360 +/- 90 ky BP (Belluomini et al., 1986; G. Belluomini, personal communication). New data on this important point arc expected from the electron spin resonance (ESR) dates in preparation by H. P. Schwartz (A. It’. Anzidei, personal communication).