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10.1080/1357650X.2010.529451 Considerable research supports the high frequency of right-handedness in living Homo sapiens, with worldwide rates of approximately nine right- for every one left-hander. Right-handedness appears to be a uniquely human trait, as no other primate species, no matter how proficient in tool use, shows frequencies even close to the strong right bias typical of humans (Cashmore, Uomini, & Chapelain, 2008; McGrew & Marchant 1997; Steele & Uomini, 2009). Here we review our research on human fossils from Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca, Spain) and their likely descendants, the European Neandertals. We document hand preference in fossils by scratch patterns that occur on the labial (lip) face of incisors and canines, and contend that these patterns provide a reliable means for identifying predominant hand use in these samples. Manipulatory marks on the anterior teeth show a persistent pattern of right-handed actions, implying that the modern human pattern of dominant right-handedness extends deep into the European past.

Seven Vindija (Croatia) Neandertal teeth, dated ~32, 000 years ago, were analyzed to determine patterning of scratches on the anterior teeth. Oblique scratches exclusively on the labial faces of incisors and canines represent a distinctive pattern, characteristic of hand directed, non-masticatory activities. At Vindija and elsewhere these scratches reveal activities, which were performed primarily with the right hand. The late Neandertals from Vindija, combined with other studies, show that European Neandertals were predominately right-handed with a ratio 15:2 (88.2%), a frequency similar to living people. Studies of teeth from Atapuerca extend this modern ratio to more than 500, 000 years ago and increase the frequency of righthanders in the European fossil record to almost 94%. Species-wide, preferential right-handedness is a defining feature of modern Homo sapiens, tied to brain laterality and language with the ~9:1 ratio of right- to lefthanders - a reflection of the link between left hemispheric dominance and language. Up-to-date behavioral and anatomical studies of Neandertal fossils and the recent discovery of their possession of the FOXP2 gene indicate Neandertals (and, very likely, their European ancestors) had linguistic capacities similar to living humans.

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The Early Pleistocene sedimentary succession of the Dandiero (Buia) Basin (Danakil Depression, Eritrea) has preserved a rich paleontological, paleoanthropological, and archeological record. Fieldwork undertaken between 1995 and 2003 on a site at Uadi Aalad (Abbate et al. 1998) led to the discovery of one-million-year-old human remains. They consist of a cranium in excellent preservation condition (UA-31), two permanent teeth (UA-222 and UA-369), and three pelvic portions (UA-173, UA-405 and UA-466, the latter recovered on 2003). The cranium and the postcranial remains represent a single adult individual, likely of female sex. The cranium evidences a blend of "erectus-like" and progressive morpho-architectural features, the latter more commonly found in the Middle Pleistocene. Preparation and restoration of the specimens (notably, of the virtually complete UA-31 face) were only completed on September 2003. The revision, refinement, and integration of our previous analytical and interpretative work (cf. Abbate et al. 1998; Macchiarelli et al. 2002) is in progress within the context of the paleoanthropological reord currently available for the African Early to Middle Pleistocene., Rivista italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, Supplement

The catalytic reduction of nitroarenes towards anilines is an important reaction from both academic and industrial points of view, being the resulting products important intermediates to produce dyes, agrochemicals, pigments, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, removal of nitroarene pollutants from water by reducing them into anilines is a valuable method to purify contaminated matrices. Such reductive reactions are frequently carried out by using noble metal catalysts [1], which are usually very active and recyclable in some cases. Recently, the use of earth abundant metal catalysts has gained great interest especially for economic reasons, as these materials are generally cheap and easy to be reached [2]. In this framework, iron oxides catalysts are very attractive because they are cheap and not toxic. Herein, we report on the synthesis of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) of size ranging from 50 to 80 nm starting from a porous organic polymer (POP) containing Fe(III) sites, which was in turn annealed at 400°C. The obtained NPs were characterized by SEM-EDX, XRPD, IR and TXRF and were employed as active and recyclable catalysts in the reduction of p-bromonitrobenzene into p-bromo-aniline, using hydrazine hydrate in ethanol, taken as the model reaction. [1] Dell’Anna, M.M.; Intini, S.; Romanazzi, G.; Rizzuti, A.; Leonelli, C.; Piccinni, F.; Mastrorilli, P. J. Mol. Catal. A: Chem. 2014, 395, 307–314. [2] Romanazzi, G.; Fiore, A.M.; Mali, M.; Rizzuti, A.; Leonelli, C.; Nacci, A.; Mastrorilli, P.; Dell'Anna, M. M. Mol. Catal., 2018, 446, 31–38

In questo contributo vengono presi in esame i vari usi e le molteplici valenze del cane nella civiltà Etrusca tra il VI e il III sec. a.C. con particolare attenzione ad alcuni contesti dell’Etruria Padana. In ambito etrusco i cani vengono prevalentemente allevati per fini utilitaristici: per compagnia, per la protezione della casa o del bestiame e per la caccia; rare, seppur presenti, sono le attestazioni di cinofagia. In ambito sacro, strettamente legato alla dimensione ctonia, il cane è connesso ai passaggi e alle porte, al movimento, dunque alla crescita e alla procreazione; forte è anche il legame con la morte e l’oltretomba di cui esso è guardiano infero oltre che protettore del defunto. Proprio per queste valenze cultuali il cane poteva essere oggetto di sacrifici di varia tipologia (di protezione, purificatori, espiatori, onorifici e mantici) e di altre pratiche rituali dedicate a divinità ctonie e legate alla sfera della fertilità o all’idea di passaggio.Nella città etrusca di Marzabotto (Kainua) recenti scoperte provenienti sia dall’abitato sia dal santuario fontile hanno consentito un’analisi coerente degli usi domestici e cultuali del cane, mentre l’utilizzo in ambito funerario è ben rappresentato a Spina e ad Adria, dove sono documentate sepolture di cane, anche in posizioni rilevanti.

Cetacean mass strandings occur regularly worldwide, yet the compounded effects of natural and anthropogenic factors often complicate our understanding of these phenomena. Evidence of past stranding episodes may, thus, be essential to establish the potential influence of climate change. Investigations on bones from the site of Grotta dell’Uzzo in North West Sicily (Italy) show that the rapid climate change around 8,200 years ago coincided with increased strandings in the Mediterranean Sea. Stable isotope analyses on collagen from a large sample of remains recovered at this cave indicate that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers relied little on marine resources. A human and a red fox dating to the 8.2-kyr-BP climatic event, however, acquired at least one third of their protein from cetaceans. Numerous carcasses should have been available annually, for at least a decade, to obtain these proportions of meat. Our findings imply that climate-driven environmental changes, caused by global warming, may represent a serious threat to cetaceans in the near future.