In 1884, Stefano De Stefani, pioneer of prehistoric research in Verona, wrote in "News of the excavations of antiquities" (Academy of the Lincei, 1887), "the so-called new road, which leads to Fumane Molina, we observed a landslide debris of dolomite rocks, which contained a good quantity of bones of beasts and chipped flint." The site is Cave Fumane (Verona) in the Natural Park Lessinia. In 1964 the archaeologist Giovanni Solinas Verona Verona, solicited the assistance of the Natural History Museum of Verona for the protection of relics, bones and flint, surfaced during copiously road maintenance work. There was an initial exploration by archaeologists and Franco Angelo Pasa Mezzena. A new intervention of the Museum of Natural History of Verona, in 1982, allowed Mauro Cremaschi of Milan University to examine the stratigraphic sequence of deposits exposed by illegal excavations. At the same time, the archaeologist Augustus Sartorelli described the numerous flint artefacts recovered from Pasa in previous years. More recently (1984), archaeologist Alberto Broglio detects the presence of Aurignacian artifacts (39-34000 - 26-21000 years ago) and dissemination of bone artefacts from the excavation material is illegal and in 1988 's start of scientific research and from that moment onwards we regularly carry out an agreement with the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of the Veneto.
This important archaeological site, formerly known as the "Shelter Solinas" and now known as Cave Fumane, revealed the existence of a tangle of cavity almost completely filled with the debris of a landslide body, removed at various times after 1995. Under these debris appear the remains of Neanderthals inhabited by groups of hunters and early sapiens, all in excellent condition.
The first phase of these investigations thus revealed the existence of a site of great importance, which requires complex studies to be undertaken through collaboration between researchers and specialists from different fields, able to build the framework for relations between the unitary and multiaspettuale man, the environment and its resources. Thanks to
Cariverona recovery supported by the Foundation, since 2005 the cave is accessible to visitors of Lessinia Park through a picturesque route that allows you to observe the morphology of the karst system, examine the stratigraphic sections, to appreciate the state of conservation of Palaeolithic settlements retracing the steps of Neanderthals and early modern men who frequented these hills.
The scientific excavations at the Grotto of Fumane allow the discovery of ways of life, technology, relationships with the environment and the living arrangements of men who have lived here, documenting the times that have seen the disappearance of Neanderthal man ( here between about 90,000 and 40,000 years ago) and dissemination of Man modern.
About 20 years ago were found numerous fragments with traces of staining obtained with ocher. Five fragments of larger size with patterns defined and readable, though not all interpretable. Two of these seem to propose an anthropomorphic figure, commonly called "Shaman" for the symbolic values \u200b\u200bthat seems to recall, and a figure of an animal, perhaps one mustelid. In prehistoric times, some painted stones were detached from the ceiling and walls of the cave and were found in the levels occupied by the first Sapiens and dated to about 40,000 years ago. Currently these are the oldest known painting products.
Some of the stones painted with ocher and other archaeological materials that tell la vita preistorica a Grotta di Fumane e sui Monti Lessini, sono visibili presso il Museo Paleontologico e Preistorico di Sant’Anna d’Alfaedo (VR).
Una successiva scoperta di ossa in ottimo stato di conservazione risale al 2009, poi le ricerche su 660 penne dei grandi rapaci (avvoltoio, aquila, falco, cuculo) rinvenute nel sito hanno portato alla formulazione di una nuova ipotesi nella lunga storia del genere Homo.
I reperti provenienti da uno strato risalente a 44 mila anni dell’Uomo di Neanderthal e degli uccelli, dimostrerebbero che gli Homo neanderthalensis si servivano delle ali e delle penne più spettacolari a scopo ornamentale. Insomma, il Neanderthal non era così diverso come solitamente lo you paint. Research at the University of Ferrara allows backdating of tens of thousands of years the introduction of the ornaments for the symbolic in human evolutionary history, and reinforces previous hypotheses that suggested the use of mineral colors from Homo neanderthalensis for paint your body, so far considered the preserve of more complex societies, due exclusively to Homo sapiens.
The possession by the Neanderthals, the capacity of symbolic expression, has fueled a heated debate in the scientific community archaeological and anthropological. It seems much more likely to think of Neanderthals as men with similar behaviors abstract to those of sapiens.
A scientific discovery that involves the local community outreach initiatives by the organization of visits to places of the findings, from research to dissemination of results. It does not happen often. The initiative is the University of Ferrara, the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Veneto, Regione del Veneto (Department of Culture), the Mountain Community of Lessinia (Regional Natural Park of Lessinia), the City of Fumane, the National Museum of Prehistory Ethnographic Pigorini, The official presentation of the results of the study will be held March 2 in the Olympic Hall of the Teatro Vittoria Bosco Chiesanuova (VR). The research team is led by the archaeologist at the University of Ferrara Marco Peresani, Department of Biology and Evolution at the University of Ferrara (section paleobiology, prehistory and anthropology, helped by the Romandini Marco, a graduate student and researcher archaeozoologists the same university, Antonio Tagliacozzo director of the paleontology of Quaternary and archaeozoology the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography 'Pigorini "of Rome with its employees and Ivana Fiore Monica Gala. 
Giovanni Solinas Fumane work in the cave. Late Neandertals and the intentional removal of bird feathers as evidenced from bone taphonomy Fumane Cave at 44 ky B.P., Italy Marco Peresani et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Published online before print February 22, 2011.
Abstract
A large and varied avifaunal bone assemblage from the final Mousterian levels of Grotta di Fumane, northern Italy, reveals unusual human modifications on species that are not clearly relatable to feeding or utilitarian uses (i.e., lammergeier, Eurasian black vulture, golden eagle, red-footed falcon, common wood pigeon, and Alpine chough). Cut, peeling, and scrape marks, as well as diagnostic fractures and a breakthrough, are observed exclusively on wings, indicating the intentional removal of large feathers by Neandertals. The species involved, the anatomical affected elements, and the unusual type and location of the human Modifications indicated an activity linked to the symbolic sphere and the behavioral modernity of this European autochthonous population.
Andrea Mameli linguaggiomacchina.it February 23, 2011
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