Sunday,
October 07
385,000 Yr Old Human Footsteps in
The
ANNOTICO Report
These
400 Millennium Footprints, the oldest in the world, are located on the Roccamonfina Volcano (41.3
N, 14.9 E - elevation 1005 m )
Roccamonfina, lying somewhat far away from classical
tourist areas, south of the town of Cassino, in Campania, Italy is visited much less
than the historically active volcanoes around Napoli. It is, however, being
vigorously studied geologically.
Roccamonfina volcano has been extinct since
antiquity, but is still shaken by seismic activity. Eruptions of Roccamonfina
Volcano last
occurred
50,000 - 650,000 years
ago.
Reuters
Sat
Oct 6, 2007
The fossilised footprints, which
Italian scientists say are among the oldest anywhere, extend along six trails
at the edge of the Roccamonfina volcano in southern
There is also a handprint, made when one of the primitive
humans slipped on the soft earth.
The fossilised footpaths were known
locally as the "Devil's Trails" for centuries because they were
thought to be supernatural. Scientists first identified them properly in 2003,
and had kept the area off-limits to the public until Saturday.
Tourists cannot place their feet directly into the fossils,
but can walk along the footpath from a safe distance.
Paolo Mietto of the
"That says a lot about the potential for this
site," Mietto said.
The footprints belong to primitive members of the human
family about 1.5 metres tall, who walked upright with
a free-standing gait and used their hands to steady themselves.
The
ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (and are Archived) on:
Italia
Italia
Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com (3 years)
Annotico Email: annotico@earthlink.net