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Location of the "Devil's Trails" ("Ciampate del Diavolo") paleontological site (Roccamonfina volcano area, central Italy).
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On March 2003, the discovery of human fossil footprints on the volcanic ashes of the north eastern slope of Roccamonfina volcano was announced to the world. They were dated to through 40Ar/39Ar to 349±3 ka. For this reason they are still among the oldest ichnological issues known up to now. Furthermore, they are, more specifically, among the rarest...
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Context 1
... "Ciampate del diavolo" palaeontological site (N41°19.954' -E14°01.488') ( Fig. 1) lies on the north- eastern slope of the Roccamonfina volcano. Before its discovery, on August 4th, 2001, only a legend existed telling the story of an uncanny walker who had left his footprints on the still burning lava after trampling on it. Another local historian supposed that they might have been left by some ancient Italic people ...
Context 2
... artifact, which can be classified between the cores, has concave surfaces for multidirectional remov- als. One of its sides (Fig. 9) has the negative of 3 re- movals from a single percussion plane while one comes from the opposite plane. Its lower face has centripetal removals on which the impact point is not clearly distin- guishable (Fig. 10) The use of basalt and hard materials of volcanic origin for the manufacture of similar tools is already known from the most ancient phases of Palaeolithic technology in Africa in the Olduvai Gorge (Leakey 1971) and at Melka Kunturé ( Chavaillon & Berthelet, 2004;Chavaillon & Piperno, 2004); in Eurasia at Dmanisi ( Celiberti et al., ...
Context 3
... best preserved mammal footprints found to date at the Foresta site have been detected on the sub- horizontal surface, used as a route-way by Homo heidel- bergensis, bordering the pyroclastic flow slope (Fig. 13). They belong to a middle sized ruminant artiodactyl (ichno-order Artiodactipedida sensu Vialov, 1966), as is clearly indicated by the elongated and wedge shape of the concave hyporelief of two hooves (medial digit III hoof and lateral digit IV hoof), which are mirror images of each other, and show a convex, parabolic external outline, ...
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... scatter of the precious tool along the prehistoric frequented pathways and about the possible significance of its typological aspect (the existence of a core also implies the presence of a hammerstone). An- other interesting feature is the position and distance of the core (1,0534 m) compared to the herbivorous foot- prints described in this work (Fig. ...
Context 5
... detection and identification of vertebrate foot- prints on the Foresta palaeosurface is challenging due to the characteristics of the pyroclastic flow they are impressed on, and the alteration undergone by the top of the volcanoclastic deposit during its prolonged expo- sure to weathering agents (Fig. 12). The features of footprints left by a trackmaker, indeed, strictly relate to the typology of the substratum (e.g. granulometry, water content, degree of cohesion, inclination of the impressed surface) that affect depth and shape of tracks, as well as to gait, body mass, gender, and age of trackmakers (see e.g. inter alios Allen, ...
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... the other potential mammal tracks pre- served in the study area on the pyroclastic flow slope, a short track way would be tentatively ascribed to a horse (Hippipeda ichnotaxon, Vialov, 1966). The track way consists of 3 deep rounded buds (Fig. 14), crossing the human "Trackway B" ( Avanzini et al., 2008;Panarello, 2016c). The footprints are sub-circular in shape (the width is approximately equal to the length of the tracks, with convexly arched anterior (?) part and slightly ex- panding to nearly parallel outer margins extending pos- terior (?), but the caudal frog, ...
Context 7
... pits in front of the "digit impression" would be claw marks that bear footprints usually have in front of the digits, especially when the prints are left on soft surfaces. However, due to the bad preservation and the uneven surface of the muddy layer, any identification of such traces as real footprints is, at the moment, highly specu- lative (Fig. ...
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... Molto interessanti dal punto di vista paleontologico sono anche le impronte di mammiferi vertebrati presenti nel sito. Tali impronte sono stratigraficamente e cronologicamente correlate alle impronte umane e, sebbene non siano particolarmente numerose, consentono di individuare almeno 4 diversi taxa [Panarello et al., 2017aPalombo et al., 2018;Pillola et al., 2020]. Questi dati, combinati con quelli ricavati dai procedimenti dinamici descritti, contribuiscono a delineare uno scenario affascinante e ancora tutto da ricostruire. ...
... Localizzazione del sito di "Ciampate del diavolo" [daPanarello et al., 2017a]. ...
The world-famous Roccamonfina site represents one among the very few opportunities to investigate about the evolution of bipedal locomotion of Middle Pleistocene humans. The site includes at least 80, finely preserved human footprints in anatomical position, divided into four trackways. We applied a biomechanical model to verify if the Roccamonfina’s individuals minimized energy expenditure during locomotion, moving downhill along an oblique route cutting the slope in order to avoid the steepest gradient. In keeping with the biomechanical modelling, we found Roccamonfina’s humans adjusted their walking strategy as a function of the slope gradient in a cost effective way. Moreover, the application of the model allowed to estimate stature and body mass of a particual individual. The results perfectly fits within the variability of eurasiatic Middle Pleistocene hominins.
... I dati dimensionali e morfostrutturali, misurati dalle parti anatomiche fossilizzate meglio conservate dell'impronta della mano TP_M1 e la loro piena compatibilità con gl'intervalli dimensionali e morfostrutturali disponibili fino ad ora per gli ominini, permettono di sostenere che la cavità TP_M1 è realmente l'impronta fossile di una mano preistorica. Essa è stata effettivamente impressa su un pendio vulcanico, semiraffreddato e irregolarmente asciutto, dalla mano sinistra di un ominine del medio Pleistocene, forse un Homo heidelbergensis [Panarello et al., 2017[Panarello et al., , 2020 con bibliografia], che procedeva camminando con andatura bipede abituale. Egli, perso l'equilibrio per il cedimento inaspettato del fondo, scivolò e fu costretto ad appoggiarla istintivamente, per non cadere e per riacquistare stabilità. ...
Here we report about a fossil handprint located in the "Ciampate del diavolo" palaeontological site (Tora e Piccilli, central-southern Italy). Radiometrically dated at ~350 ka, it is the only fossilized Middle-Pleistocene human handprint up to know known in the world and the oldest so far. This handprint, called TP_M1, cannot be compared with anything similar at present, either in hypogeal or subaerial environments and is completely unrelated to any cultural purpose. Since it can only be analyzed from a dynamic and morphostructural point of view, it can be considered a kind of unique photographic snapshot of a common moment in the everyday life of a middle-Pleistocene hominin. In this sense, it represents, with the dimensional dataset here provided, an equally unique and valuable tool for the study of similar contexts and evidence.
... Ciò, naturalmente, a meno che i trackmaker non fossero stati femmine o maschi nonadulti. Le "Ciampate del diavolo" sono state attribuite preliminarmente, su base quasi esclusivamente cronologica, a Homo heidelbergensis [Panarello et al., 2017] e questa attribuzione è sembrata diventare sempre più solida man mano che la ricerca è andata avanti. Infatti, nel medesimo sito, nuove orme umane sono state scoperte, analizzate, descritte e pubblicate [Panarello et al., 2020] e, fra esse, ve n'è anche almeno una accertata che è lunga 27 cm. ...
... Recentemente, nell'icnosito delle "Ciampate del diavolo", un piccolo nucleo in basalto (mm 52 x 45,50 x 42, del peso di 94 gr) è stato anche rinvenuto "in situ", fra l'unità impressa (LS7) e quella di sigillo (LS8), ma le sue caratteristiche non consentono di ascriverlo a una cultura specifica. L'unico dato veramente significativo è il fatto che la sua datazione è certa, essendo stato trovato fra due unità entrambe datate intorno a 350 ka [Panarello et al., 2017]. ...
Attributing a fossil footprint to a specific human species is always a challenging task, especially when no other archaeological evidence is available in addition to the age of the trampled layer.
In the Foresta ichnosite only recently some rare Levallois lithic tools have been found and they are still under study. For this reason, the precise attribution of the so-called “Devil’s Trails” to a specific human trackmaker remains very hard. Moreover, the rekindling of the palaeoanthropological debate about the precise characterization of human species moving in the age to which these fossil footprints have been dated (around 350 ka) (Homo heidelbergensis vs. Homo neanderthalensis) has made this task even more difficult. In this contribution, we summarise the status of the studies in light of the latest findings and knowledge.
... Nel caso specifico delle orme della località Foresta (Comune di Tora e Piccilli), sul versante orientale del Roccamonfina, il distacco potrebbe rivelarsi ancora più distruttivo, perché spostare altrove le sole impronte fossili o anche l'intera paleosuperficie che le conserva (impresa titanica e ai limiti dell'utopia!) significherebbe alterare irreparabilmente un geosito che è unico al mondo anche per altre caratteristiche naturali e demoetnoantropologiche [Panarello, 2005a[Panarello, , 2005b e non solo per i suoi contenuti paleontologici [Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008b;Panarello et al., 2017a]. Altrettanto pericoloso sembra il consolidamento della superficie impressa, che è Tufo Leucitico Bruno e, quindi, una roccia tenera. ...
... Illustrati sinteticamente i caratteri essenziali e i motivi di pregio e di unicità del sito paleontologico delle "Ciampate del diavolo" [Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008aAvanzini et al., , 2008bAvanzini et al., , 2020Palombo et al., 2018;Panarello, 2016aPanarello, , 2016bPanarello, , 2020Panarello et al., 2017aPanarello et al., , 2017c, 2020Pillola et al., 2020], è doveroso metterne in evidenza la vulnerabilità che, in modo non dissimile dagli altri icnositi analoghi [Bennett et al., 2013], pone drammaticamente il problema della sua conservazione e della necessità di intervenire con la massima tempestività, per arrestare il processo di degrado delle impronte fossili umane e animali, già iniziato nel primo trentennio del secolo XIX [Panarello et al., questo volume, pp. 3348] e acceleratosi negli ultimi tre lustri, in seguito alla maggiore frequentazione del sito e alla sua funzionalizzazione turistica. ...
Fossil human footprints are among the rarest and most precious finds for the study of antiquity. Their value lies in their power to describe body structures, actions, and behaviours. Their rarity is because - almost always - they are preserved on deposits that have turned into soft rocks which are easily eroded by natural agents and damaged by human wrong actions and management. Considering human ichnites as any other archaeological find to be preserved is a common and really dangerous mistake. Therefore, in this contribution, after examining the main protection actions carried out in some of the most important ichnosites of the world, we propose also a solution for the protection and promotion of the "Ciampate del diavolo" palaeontological site ichnites. This solution seems to us to be the only and most suitable for the right preservation of this unique cultural asset.
... ed è ubicato nell'areale vulcanico del Roccamonfina (Italia centro meridionale), nella località Foresta del territorio del Comune di Tora e Piccilli, in provincia di Caserta (Figura 10.1). Il geosito conserva testimonianze icnologiche umane e animali fra le più antiche e rare del mondo, ha caratteristiche ambientali di assoluta unicità e un enorme potenziale paleontologico [Mietto et al., 2003; La realtà icnologica delle orme fossili della località Foresta è stata già dimostrata nel 2003 [Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008] e confermata dai rilievi più recenti [Panarello et al., 2017b[Panarello et al., , 2017dPanarello & Mietto, 2017;Saborit et al., 2019;Panarello, 2020]. Le icniti, infatti, sono conservate al tetto dell'unità LS7 di Tufo Leucitico Bruno (BLT), evidenziano bordi di espulsione, sono coordinate in piste e sono state datate in un range cronologico compatibile con la presenza di esemplari del genere Homo [Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008;Scaillet et al., 2008;Santello, 2010]. ...
... Le icniti, infatti, sono conservate al tetto dell'unità LS7 di Tufo Leucitico Bruno (BLT), evidenziano bordi di espulsione, sono coordinate in piste e sono state datate in un range cronologico compatibile con la presenza di esemplari del genere Homo [Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008;Scaillet et al., 2008;Santello, 2010]. L'attribuzione delle orme ai suddetti trackmaker ha avuto luogo sulla base di dettagli anatomici incontrovertibilmente umani, come, ad esempio, la presenza dell'arco plantare; la forma concava, asimmetrica e allungata delle orme; l'alternanza regolare delle concavità mediali; la presenza delle depressioni lasciate dal tallone, dall'alluce e, talvolta, anche da qualche dito; le impronte di altre parti anatomiche, come mani, polpacci, caviglie, glutei, etc. [Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008;Panarello et al., 2016;Panarello et al., 2017bPanarello et al., , 2017dPanarello et al., , 2018Panarello et al., , 2020Panarello, 2020]. A tutto questo si deve aggiungere il fatto, di non poco conto, che le piste hanno una lunga estensione e descrivono tracciati del tutto compatibili con quelli creati dall'andatura umana. ...
... Sia le planimetrie generali, sia il rapporto di continuità con altre depressioni compatibili con orme umane, sia le mappe di profondità, sia l'applicazione del "Metodo combinato" [Panarello & Mietto, 2017] confermano la sua realtà di impronta fossile. Anche le sue dimensioni massime misurabili (cm 25x10) appaiono perfettamente compatibili con il range dimensionale riscontrato su altre icniti autentiche nello stesso sito paleontologico [Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008;Panarello et al., 2017bPanarello et al., , 2020. L'elemento più importante, ai fini della sua validazione, è una leggera estrusione da pressione di materiale molle, che incornicia il suo margine laterale. ...
This report provides a complete description of the general “Ciampate del diavolo” palaeontological site (Tora e Piccilli, Central-Southern Italy) and each of the human ichnites there found so far. This description is integrated and completed with the tables, graphs, and pictures given in Supplements 1, 2, and 3 of this volume [Panarello et al., 2022a;b;c]. We think that this huge amount of both numeric and visual data will be very useful for any other human palaeoichnological study. Pictures and data show great variability in footprint structures due to the choices in the gait-patterns step-by-step imposed to the trackmakers by the geomorphological asperities that they had to face during their prehistoric walking along an irregularly plastic and unsafe substrate. The same complex morpho-structural characteristics of the footprints highlight the uniqueness of the ichnological context of the “Ciampate del diavolo” geosite, which is the only in the world, so far, to be located on an extremely steep volcanic deposit.
... Sul fondo dell'alveo del solco più stretto, cioè nella sua parte non ampliata, a partire dal successivo segmento P1_14, si notano delle depressioni in successione perfettamente compatibili con la deambulazione umana, anche se fortemente danneggiate e assolutamente prive di dettagli anatomici conservati. Nella zona subplanare, che segna il margine a monte del substrato riesumato del segmento P1_13, sono anche visibili depressioni compatibili con orme fossili di paleofauna, le quali sono attualmente oggetto di studio [Panarello, 2016a;Panarello et al., 2017b;Pillola et al., 2020]. Il segmento P1_14 ( Figure S4.41S4.43, ...
... In questo spazio, come pure in quello della parte centrale del segmento di sentiero, sono conservate delle depressioni compatibili con orme umane, ma sono troppo povere di elementi obiettivi per una loro validazione definitiva come icniti. Al contrario, fra le depressioni compatibili con orme animali che le affiancano, alcune delle quali sono ancora oggetto di analisi scientifica, ve ne sono due che sono già state confermate e attribuite a un esemplare di ungulato [Panarello, 2016a;Panarello et al., 2017b;Pillola et al., 2020]. Ubicate nella parte più occidentale e centrale dello spazio del segmento P1_15, esse conservano evidenti sia i segni delle due unghie sia quelli degli speroni. ...
... Ubicate nella parte più occidentale e centrale dello spazio del segmento P1_15, esse conservano evidenti sia i segni delle due unghie sia quelli degli speroni. I bordi di espulsione sono stati cancellati dal transito ripetuto su quella parte di sentiero, ma la loro autenticità è sicura per la presenza di elementi anatomici conservati assolutamente inequivocabili [Panarello et al., 2017b]. La lunghezza generale (assiale) di queste due impronte varia da 5,3 a 5,5 cm, mentre la massima larghezza varia da 2,7 a 3 cm. ...
The details and in-depth descriptions provided in this careful report give a complete description of what is considered the oldest human pathway up to now know in the world. The so-called “P1 Pathway” has the same direction of the ledge overlooking the slope on which the so-called "Ciampate del diavolo" are preserved and some fossil footprints have been recognized also inside its space. People and animals walked along this path during prehistoric times. In the same space, men and animals have been walking during historical time, and walk at present time in a chronological continuity, recorded on topographical maps, that finds no comparison anywhere else in the world and that seems to be due to the important geomorphological constraints that have always influenced the settlement choices in this area. The detailed description of this uncommon ichnological structure is integrated and completed with the tables, graphs, and pictures given in the Supplement 4 of this volume [Panarello e Mietto, 2022d].
... While the record of fossil Plio-Pleistocene hominin footprints is constantly increasing (e.g., Masao et al., 2016;Hatala et al., 2017Hatala et al., , 2020Bustos et al., 2018;Helm et al., 2018;McLaren et al., 2018;Duveau et al., 2019;Muñiz et al., 2019;Avanzini et al. Forthcoming), the integrated analysis of footprints, lithostratigraphy, palaeontology and archaeology is less common although there are exceptions and the picture is slowly changing (see Fabiano and Zucchelli, 2003;Mastrolorenzo et al., 2006;Silva et al., 2013;Pastoors et al., 2015;Mussi et al., 2016;Ledoux et al., 2017;Panarello et al., 2017Panarello et al., , 2020Altamura et al., 2018;Moreno et al., 2019;Romano et al., 2019;Serangeli et al., 2020). ...
New ichnological data are available at the prehistoric site of Melka Kunture, Upper Awash Valley in
Ethiopia. Excavation of new test pits enabled us to explore the volcanic and fluvio-lacustrine sequence at
the Gombore II Open Air Museum archaeological site (ca. 0.85 Ma). This has allowed a detailed reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment and of the fauna present in the time interval between 1.2 and
0.85 Ma. Various-sized mammals, birds, molluscs as well as hominins left tracks throughout the
sequence, and document a varied fauna and associated behaviours. Most of the hominin tracks were
made by young individuals on the basis of size and are some of the earlier child tracks to be reported. The
mollusc traces document the presence and orientation of water streams which, according to the associated
vertebrate traces, were visited by hominins, mammals and birds. Most of these traces were found
within levels traditionally considered barren for archaeology, yet they all document life activity and are
always in situ. This confirms the potential of the ichnological research as an important complementary
tool for archaeological investigations.
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... As regard the record of the Italian Peninsula, ichnofossils left by large mammals (excluding hominid tracks and trackways) have been reported in aeolianreworked alluvial sandsheet deposits of Upper Valdarno, Chianti area (Early Pleistocene), in late-glacial muddy cave floors ("Grotta del Fiume", Marche and "Sala dei Misteri", Liguria), and in Middle Pleistocene ignimbrite deposits of the north-eastern slope of the Roccamonfina Volcano, Campania (Ghinassi et al., 2013;Citton et al., 2017;Panarello et al., 2017bPanarello et al., , 2020Palombo et al., 2018). ...
This work presents the current knowledge on the Quaternary vertebrate ichnological record (excluding the hominid data) of peninsular and insular Italy. In particular, the data concerning different Pleistocene localities of Sardinia (e.g. Capo Mannu and Funtana Morimenta) and the Middle Pleistocene Foresta "Devil's Trails" ichnosite of Roccamonfina Volcano (Campania) are here discussed. In the Pleistocene record of Sardinia four ichnotaxa are known: Bifidipes aff. B. aeolis as regard the Early Pleistocene, and Proboscipeda panfamilia McNeil, Hills, Tolman, and Kooyman, 2007, Bifidipes isp. and Canipeda isp. as concerning the Middle-Late Pleistocene record. Four ichnotaxa are identified also in the Middle Pleistocene ichnosite of Foresta "Devil's Trails": Proboscipeda panfamilia, McNeil, Hills, Tolman, and Kooyman, 2007, Ursichnus isp., Hippipeda isp., and the ichnogenus Pecoripeda (? ichnosubgenus Cervipeda). The systematics of the mammal ichnofossils and the putative trackmakers are discussed and, furthermore, the ages, the stratigraphic and geological data are briefly treated to suggest the relative palaeoenvironmental contexts.
... The ichnosite, formally described by Mietto et al. (2003), was already known by local people since the first half of XIX century (Panarello, 2005;De Angelis, 2009;Panarello et al., 2017a). The record consists of many footprints preserved on a volcanic deposit so as to evoke, over time, various fantastic and anecdotal interpretations about an uncanny walker able to cross fresh lava without getting burnt (hence the name "ciampate del diavolo", literally translated into "devil's footprints" or "devil's trails"; Avanzini et al., 2008;Panarello et al., 2017b), or an ancient warrior of historic times (Iulianis, 1986). ...
... The record represented, for at least a decade, the oldest occurrence in the global human ichnological record, leading to a great scientific and media interest (Avanzini, 2003;Avanzini et al., 2003Avanzini et al., , 2008Mietto, 2004Mietto, , 2009Mietto et al., 2013;Panarello, 2016aPanarello, , 2016bPanarello et al., 2017aPanarello et al., , 2017bPanarello et al., , 2018Panarello et al., , 2020Palombo et al., 2018;Saborit et al., 2019). Recently, evidence for older human footprints (likely referable to Homo herectus) have been described from Ileret/Koobi Fora in Kenya (Bennett et al., 2009), at Happisburgh in the United Kingdom (Ashton et al., 2014), at Gombore II.2 -Melka Kunture, Africa (Altamura et al., 2018). ...
... These tracks were referred to middle sized ruminant artiodactyls and possible young strait-tusked elephants (Panarello et al., 2017a;Palombo et al., 2018). Panarello et al. (2017b) described the additional P1-Trackway located on the top of the same BLT (Brown Leucitic Tuff, top of layer LS7) zeolitized layer preserving the above described footprints, and representing the area from which the two trackways A and B start. The fossil pathway, called P1-Pathway (start: N41°19.954'-E14°01.466' ...
The ichnological record of human traces from Italy is rich and quite diversified. In recent years, the development and dissemination of various methodologies and technological applications has facilitated the re-analysis of this record, enabling different, sometimes deeper, interpretations favoured by the integration of external data, both geological and palaeontological. The oldest occurrence of the human ichnological record from Italy is represented by the Middle Pleistocene 'Devil's Trails' ichnosite in the "Foresta" area (Roccamonfina volcano, southern Italy), depicting human trackmakers trampling a pyroclastic flow deposit while descending a slope dating to about 349 ka. Most of the record is Holocene in age and is constituted by the Upper Palaeolithic Grotta della Bàsura site (Toirano, northern Italy, about 14 ky), the protohistoric sites of Afragola, Nola and Palma, the area of Pompei and the site of Aosta. The record is enriched by the ichnological evidence preserved in military structures of Trentino region (northern Italy) during the First World War. An updated report and discussion of these sites is provided here.
... Since the discovery in 2001 of the actual nature of what popular tradition has been naming for decades as "Ciampate del Diavolo", (Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008) the fieldwork and research undertaken under the direction of one of us (PM) by means of increasingly developed and advanced techniques of collection, analysis and interpretation of ichnological data, led to new discoveries, and to the creation of extremely detailed datasets useful for the correct interpretation of the nature and significance of the Foresta footprints and trackways and their chronology (Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008;Panarello et al., 2017a,b;. Among the most recently published research are the dating of the fossil human pathway, the oldest known to date (Panarello et al., 2017b), some large mammal footprints (Panarello et al., 2017a;Palombo et al., 2018), the updated description of Trackway B (preliminarily reported by Mietto et al., 2003 andAvanzini et al., 2008) including that of some fossil prints of other anatomical parts of the human body, unknown to date in literature (Panarello, 2019, submitted), and the first detailed description and analysis of the only known Middle Pleistocene handprint . ...
... The presence of a single basalt artefact, found in the thin layer at the base of LS8, about a metre away from footprints of a small artiodactyl, and briefly described by Panarello et al. (2017a), and the identification during a geological survey of some artefacts in the surroundings of the Foresta site ( Fig. 7) may enable the formulation of new hypotheses about the hypothetical behaviour of the hominins inhabiting the Roccamonfina territory. ...
... The artefact found at the ichnosite The small basalt core (52 mm × 45.50 mm × 42 mm, weight 94 g) was already briefly described by Panarello et al. (2017a). ...
The Foresta ichnosite is well known for preserving some of the oldest human fossil footprints recorded in Europe so far. This research aims to: i) describe new footprints that are larger than those already reported, some of which form a new trackway that moves in the opposite direction to all the others; ii) announce the discovery of some stone tools also in the surroundings of the Foresta ichnosite. The new results increase the total number of human fossil footprints to at least 81, specify the direction and the number of footprints of Trackway C, and identify three new directions of walking at the site. More compelling and complete estimates of the dimensional range of all ichnological evidence enables us, furthermore, to estimate the number of trackmakers walking on the trampled surface as a minimum of five, one of them likely being an adult male. The general shape of all the recorded footprints suggests that the Foresta trackmakers share some similarities with those at Sima de los Huesos, and belong to the same taxonomical group as the Ceprano skull. All the new evidence enables us to better understand the presence of hominin populations in the Roccamonfina volcano area during the Middle Pleistocene.
