Research news from ISItA members Journal of Anthropological Sciences the JASs is published by the Istituto Italiano di Antropologia www.isita-org.com JASs cover story JASs cover story Vol. 90 (2012), pp. 1-4 The irst modern Europeans Stefano Benazzi Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria e-mail: stefano.benazzi@univie.ac.at he discovery of new human fossil remains is one of the most obvious ways to improve our understanding of the dynamics of human evolution. he reanalysis of existing fossils using newer methods is also crucial, and may lead to a reconsideration of the biological and taxonomical status of some specimens, and improve our understanding of highly debated periods in human prehistory. his is particularly true for those remains that have previously been studied using traditional approaches, with only morphological descriptions and standard calliper measurements available. My own interest in the Uluzzian, and its associated human remains grew from my interest in applying recently developed analytical techniques to quantify morphological variation. Discovered more than 40 years ago, the two deciduous molars from Grotta del Cavallo (Apulia, Italy) are the only human remains associated with the Uluzzian culture (one of the main three European ‘transitional’ cultures). These teeth were previously attributed to Neanderthals. This attribution contributed to a consensus view that the Uluzzian, with its associated ornament and tool complexes, was produced by Neanderthals. A reassessment of these deciduous teeth by means of digital morphometric analysis revealed that these remains belong to anatomically modern humans (AMHs). This finding contradicts previous assumptions and suggests that modern humans, and not Neanderthals, created the Uluzzian culture. Of equal importance, new chronometric analyses date these dental remains to ~43,000-45,000 cal BP. Thus, the teeth from Grotta del Cavallo represent the oldest European AMH currently known. Few topics in human evolution have attracted the attention of so many scholars as the transition between the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in Europe, a period characterized by the arrival of ana- tomically modern humans (AMHs) and the demise of the Neanderthals. Despite eforts to unravel the problem, the time and mode of the replacement are still a matter of intense debate. It has been suggested that climate played a role in Neanderthal extinction, but on its own, this hypothesis is weak when one considers that the Neanderthal lineage is likely to have evolved in glacial environments. Even the presumed dietary restriction of Neanderthals, which was mainly based on meat consump- tion, may be excluded given that strong eco-geographic dietary variation and the exploitation of a wide range of food types is now associated with Neanderthals (i.e., Fiorenza et al., 2011). Another hypothesis that has been proposed suggests that AMH’s more advanced culture provided a distinct advantage, and this led to the disappearance of the Neanderthals. his hypothesis has been hampered by evidence which suggests that the last Neanderthals were also exceptionally innovative developing e-pub ahead of print doi 10.4436/jass.90005