In search of Australopithecus Siculus
Reference page: Echoes: Reflections from the past, resonances in the present
Abstract
This article, part of the series “Echoes: Reflections from the Past, Resonances in the Present”, addresses a complex and fascinating question: when did the first hominid arrive in Sicily?. Starting from the title of the 1997 article by Sabatino Moscati “Australopithecus Siculus: myth or reality?”, I explore the evidence and hypotheses on the possible presence of hominids on the island in very remote times.
As often happens, behind every myth there is a kernel of truth, and through an analysis of existing theories and archaeological findings, I try to outline a possible picture of the anthropization of Sicily. To enrich the discussion, I have included a interactive map of the archaeological sites of the Lower Paleolithic, extracted from the Multimedia Archaeological Map of Sicily (CAMS).
The Genus Australopithecus
According to chronological estimates, the separation between the ancestors of man and the chimpanzee took place between ten and 4,5 million years ago. Traces of the first hominids are found in Ethiopia, remains of a Australopithecus (Australopithecus ramidus) were found in 1994 at Aramis in the Awash Valley in Ethiopia and have been dated to 4,4 million years. Previously, the most famous Australopithecus specimen was the skeleton known as “Lucy”, discovered in 1974 in hadar (Ethiopia) and dated to approximately 3,2 million years ago.[1].
Australopithecines, especially those who lived between two and three million years ago, walked upright and were able to chip stones, this is confirmed by the discovery of stone tools dated between 2,6 and 2,4 million years ago in certain Ethiopian sites. Kada Gona and Kada Hadar near the Awash Valley[2]. The indications that come from these findings undermine the principle that it was Homo habilis the first hominid to know how to use his hands, in fact, the latter made his appearance around 2 (or perhaps 2,5) million years ago coexisting for a certain period with the Australopithecines.
The Genus Homo
Also a couple of million years ago (give or take a year), another hominid appeared, Homo erectus o homo ergaster These perfect the art of chipping stones, in fact the first "bifaces" appear (1,2 million years ago) and discover the use of fire, or it would be better to say, learn to keep it under control (800.00 years ago but perhaps even earlier, 1,5 million years ago as demonstrated by some remains found at Koobi Fora, near Lake Turkana (Kenya)[3]
Traces of Homo Erectus are found not only in Africa but also in Europe, the Near East and Asia. The archaeological site of Chilhac, in the French Massif Central, has yielded worked pebbles, attributable to human activity approximately 1,5 million years ago.[4]
Until a few years it was common opinion that the appearance ofHomo Sapiens occurred around 200.000 years ago, according to the discovery of a sapiens found in Omo Kibish, in Ethiopia, but the 2017 discovery, reported in the online journal www.nature.com[5], of remains of a Homo Sapiens in the archaeological site of Jebel irhoud (Morocco), which has been attributed to 300-350.000 years of age, would not only move the presence of Homo Sapiens back in time but would also identify theNorth Africa as the probable cradle of humanity instead of the ancient theory that it was in East Africa[6].
© IR Stone, Shutterstock
Another hominid, similar to Homo Sapiens, lived between 200.000 and 40.000 years ago. Homo neanderthalensis whose name derives from the Neanderthal valley near Düsseldorf in Germany, where the first fossil remains were found.
The interactions between Homo sapiens e Homo neanderthalensis represent an important element of our evolutionary history. Genetic studies have revealed that these two human species not only coexisted in different regions, but interbred, leaving a genetic imprint on modern humans[7].
Recent studies also reveal that Neanderthals were capable of producing and hearing human-like language.[8].
Circa 34-40.000 years ago, with the disappearance of Neanderthal man, theHomo sapiens became the only surviving human species, from which we all descended.
If it is true that the first hominids can be traced back to a period between 10 and 4,5 million years ago, it is possible to hypothesize that the first migratory flows began early, compatible with the climate and the surrounding environment which, as we know, has varied greatly in the last million years. For example, there are theories that indicate an almost total drying up of the Mediterranean which occurred about six million years ago (Messinian Salinity Crisis – 5,96 – 5,33 million years ago -)[9].
The First Hominids in Sicily
Most scholars agree that mankind arrived in Sicily following the trajectory Africa → Eurasia → Sicily. However, considering the presence of hominids in Africa already between 5 and 6 million years ago and taking into account that the Mediterranean Sea has undergone, at various times, significant lowering of the sea level, it would not be entirely risky (although not scientifically proven) to hypothesize that a group of ancient African hominids could have reached our lands directly. If not through a direct connection, it is plausible that they followed an alternative route, passing through Morocco to Spain and then moving towards Sicily (Africa → Europe → Sicily). At that time, the absence or reduction of the Mediterranean would have made the passage easier, allowing them to cross the basin by walking. Upon their arrival, they found no one to ask them for a "residence permit", since the human race itself originated precisely in North Africa.
Traces of those first inhabitants may have been found in the 5s by Gerlando Bianchini near Agrigento, who found human remains dating, according to Sabatino Moscati, between 3 and XNUMX million years ago.[10]. Bianchini's discoveries, who believed he had found the "Australopithecus siculus", were met with skepticism by the scientific community. If the reliability of these findings were to be definitively accepted, the discovery could be seen as a further element in favor of the idea that the human race, even if in the form of the first hominids, did not follow the trajectory Africa -> Eurasia -> Sicily but would have radiated from Africa directly to Europe and then to Sicily, if not even (it would be sensational) directly to Sicily. The theory is actually not so new, many writers of the past, including Raffaele Solarino from Ragusa[11], had accepted the idea that the first Sicilian hominid came directly from Africa.
Even recently some authors have hypothesized the existence of land bridges or in any case of archipelagos of islands located a short distance away, which could have allowed, in various phases of the Lower Pleistocene (2,58 million - 900.000 years ago) and Middle Pleistocene (900.000 - 455.000 years ago), a connection, albeit indirect, between the coasts of Northern Africa and the European continent through the Strait of Gibraltar or the Channel of Sicily, and therefore allowed the passage of fauna and hominids between the two continents.[12]
In conclusion: when did the first hominid arrive in Sicily?
Ultimately, it remains an open question, but when did the first hominid arrive in Sicily?
Determining the precise date of arrival of the first hominid in Sicily is a complex challenge. Based on current archaeological evidence, the oldest traces of human presence on the island date back to around a million years ago. However, if one day the reliability of Bianchini's findings were confirmed, we could backdate the arrival of hominids in Sicily to at least two million years ago, opening new perspectives on the first human migrations in the Mediterranean.
If we exclude for the moment the finds made by Bianchini who believed he had found the “Australopithecus siculus” in the Agrigento area, there remain a notable number of sites where traces dating back to the Lower Paleolithic have been found; in fact, the artefacts found in Chief Rossello near Realmonte (pebbles chipped at one end on one face or on two faces) and those found in a rock shelter in the Valley of the Platani at Cammarata. Other traces of human presence in the lower Paleolithic have been found in the province of Catania along the rivers Dittaino e simeto and Ancient Noto.
Lower Paleolithic Sites in Sicily
A list, certainly not exhaustive, of sites referable to the Lower Paleolithic extracted from the Multimedia Archaeological Map of Sicily (CAMS), to which we refer for more detailed information is the following:
Province of Agrigento
- Cape White – Heraclea Minoa (Catholic Heraclea)
- Monterosso Tower (Realmonte)
- Vruaro Fortress (San Giovanni Gemini)
- Biondi House (Realmonte)
- Cape Rossello (Realmonte)
- White Point (Agrigento)
- Big Point (Realmonte)
- Monte Grande (Montechiaro Palm)
- Chianetta District (Agrigento)
- Contrada MandrascDava (Agrigento)
- Pergole District (Realmonte)
- Bertolino of the Sea District (Menfi)
- Cavarretto District (Menfi)
Province of Catania
- Fontanazza and Piccone (Adrano)
- The Mountain (Ramacca)
- Castellaccio (Paternò)
- Monte Turcisi (Castel di Judica)
- Perriere Sottano (Ramacca)
- Poggio del Monaco (Paternò)
- Stimpato 7 (Ramacca)
- Stimpato 8 (Castellito Farmhouse) (Ramacca)
- Stimpato 9 (Ramacca)
Province of Enna
- Lower Muglia (Centuripe)
- Muglia North (Centuripe)
Province of Messina
- Cave of San Teodoro (Acquedolci)
Province of Palermo
- Contrada Giancaniglia (Termini Imerese)
- Rock necropolis of Castellaccio (Termini Imerese)
- Castellaccio (Termini Imerese)
- Leone Dam (Castronovo di Sicilia)
Province of Syracuse
- Ancient Noto (Noto)
- Tower Floor (Augusta)
- Meta Plan (Lentini)
- Saint Basil (Lentini)
- St. George (Lentini)
Province of Trapani
- Contrada Fiume Grande (Salemi)
- Carnemolla (Salemi)
- Canetici (Salemi)
- Bovara (Bovarella) (Salemi)
- Guarrato (Trapani)
- Baglio Granatello West (Trapani)
- Marausa (Trapani)
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Johanson, D., & Taieb, M: Plio-Pleistocene hominid discoveries in Hadar, Ethiopia. Nature, 260 (1976) p. 24 ↑
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Unesco History of Humanity: Volume I. Prehistory and the Dawn of Civilization pag. 13. Gedea Edition De Agostini 2002 ↑
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Harris, J., & Isaac, G.: Koobi Fora Research Project. Clarendon Press (1976) p.204 ↑
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Yves Coppens and Denis Geraads: Andropogenesis – general framework. In History of Humanity Vol. I. Unesco – Istituto Grafico De Agostini ↑
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http://www.repubblica.it/scienze/2017/06/07/news/i_primi_antenati_dell_homo_sapiens-167513501/ ↑
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https://www.ansa.it/canale_scienza/notizie/ragazzi/news/2023/10/19/il-dna-racconta-la-convivenza-tra-neanderthal-e-sapiens_594690c9-01b5-4ce9-9620-cbda83869bb8.html / https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/449952-discovering-the-large-overlap-between-neanderthals-and-early-homo-sapiens/it / https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2024/12/16/gran-hallazgo-en-el-genoma-humano-revela-el-momento-el-que-se-cruzaron-el-homo-sapiens-y-los-neandertales-cadena-ser/ ↑
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https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/429354-trending-science-neanderthals-could-hear-and-communicate-like-humans-say-scientists/it ↑
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https://www.unina.it/-/1329819-quando-il-mediterraneo-era-un-deserto ↑
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Sabatino Moscati: Australopithecus Siculus: myth or reality?. Archeo Magazine, July 1997, p. 37. ↑
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Raffaele Solarino: The County of Modica Vol. 1. Pag. 45 ↑
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Marcello Piperno: The Populations of Sicily. Lower Paleolithic. In Prima Sicilia p. 84. ↑
From the Multimedia Archaeological Archive of Sicily: Lower Paleolithic
Articles from “Echoes”
